Incineration or jobs?22 February 2011
Gloucestershire Friends of the Earth activists found themselves keeping unusual company in their demonstration outside County Council offices last month.
Protesting against the threat of a large-scale waste incinerator, they held banners with the slogan 'incineration or jobs?'
They were joined not only by long standing allies such as Gloucestershire Against Incinerators (GlosAIN), but also Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries, who were campaigning against library cuts.
Mary Newton, Gloucestershire Friends of the Earth campaigner, explained this unexpected alliance:
It would be a tragedy if the Council commissions an incinerator in the midst of a financial crisis, when library services are being cut. An affordable way is to increase recycling rates and if necessary, have small local residual waste facilities such as Mechanical Biological Treatment and anaerobic digestion.
Both campaigns presented petitions with over 5,000 signatures to the Council.
The Gloucestershire Friends of the Earth petition urged the council to reject incineration as the solution for dealing with residual waste in Gloucestershire.
To find out more about why Friends of the Earth opposes incineration, read our briefing "Up In Smoke".
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