We pay for Cuban bin rounds as part of an eco-regeneration project - as ours are cut

We pay for Cuban bin rounds as part of an eco-regeneration project - as
ours are cut
The EU has given £1.6m to fund waste collections on Caribbean island
By PAUL CAHALAN FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
UPDATED: 07:18 GMT, 24 August 2014

British taxpayers are funding waste collections in communist Cuba, The
Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The EU has given £1.6 million to fund bin rounds on the Caribbean island
as part of an environmental regeneration project – at a time when many
UK collections are being cut.

Although the EU's trade embargo against the communist regime ended in
2008, the Foreign Office still regards Cuba as a 'country of concern'
because of its appalling human rights record.

Last night, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the project revealed
the 'breathtaking hypocrisy' of Brussels bureaucrats.

The scheme, called Recycle For A Better Life, aims to increase
'collection of municipal solid waste for households and non-residential
in the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Dominican Republic' as well as
'making new generations aware about the environment'.

It is co-funded by the European Commission, part of the EU responsible
for providing aid through programmes around the world.

The recycling project – agreed in April – is based around the historical
centres of Havana and Santo Domingo, with cash funnelled through
EuropeAid, part of the European Commission'.

In Havana, 'non-domestic users' such as hotels, restaurants and offices,
are required to separate their rubbish into paper, plastic, aluminium
and tinplate, the project's website states.

The collections will also 'be extended to home users'.

EU cash – including UK contributions – paid for 75 per cent of the
three-year scheme, which is part of the €86 million (£68.7 million) in
international development funding Brussels has given to Cuba since 2008.

A European Commission spokesman confirmed the EU was contributing €2
million (£1.6 million) to projects in Cuba and Dominican Republic.

'Waste production is a continually increasing problem, especially in
developing countries,' she added.

'Helping our partner countries get a proper waste management system is
the main idea behind this project.'

But Mr Pickles said: 'This is an example of breathtaking hypocrisy by
the Eurocrats, wasting taxpayers' cash on supporting extensive bin
collections in communist Cuba while at the same time bullying councils
into axeing weekly collections in Britain.

'In contrast, this Government is working to improve the quality and
frequency of recycling and rubbish collections, and supporting weekly
collections.

'The EU bin bureaucrats should be held to account for this appalling
waste of taxpayers' money.'

Source: We pay for Cuban bin rounds as part of an eco-regeneration
project - as ours are cut | Mail Online -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732943/We-pay-Cuban-bin-rounds-eco-regeneration-project-cut.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490