Natural Resources
Stop Government funding for incinerators1 February 2010
Many local groups are fighting Government funded proposals for large incinerators.
If built, these will require huge amounts of waste every year, burning waste that could be reused, recycled, composted or anaerobically digested.
This makes no sense in the fight against climate change.
Incinerators contribute to climate change, even if they also generate electricity by:
- Generating energy so inefficiently that their carbon dioxide emissions are worse than fossil fuel gas power stations.
- Burning materials that could be reused or recycled, which would save energy and natural resources.
There are much better alternatives to incineration. These include more and better recycling, and anaerobic digestion in which waste food is used to produce biogas for heating and transport.
Misspent taxes
The government is offering councils £2 billion of taxpayer funding to subsidise new waste plants, including many incinerators.
The forthcoming general election offers an opportunity to push for a commitment to more sustainable policies on waste management:
- a moratorium on Government funding for incineration projects
- a tax on waste that is incinerated
- targets for Britain to match the best European recycling rates
Please send an email to each of the main political parties:
- Nick Herbert MP, Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment
- Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment
- Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for the Environment
Dear Nick Herbert MP, Tim Farron MP, Hilary Benn MP

© Jenny Bates/ Friends of the Earth



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