Merthyr: the worst place for a rubbish solution29 October 2010
Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales hosts the UK's largest open cast coal mine.
Not only is it a place of high unemployment but it has one of the highest levels of male mortality in England and Wales.
Now the American energy company - Covanta - plans to build one of the UK's largest incinerators in Merthyr.
It would bring 750,000 tonnes of waste from the whole of Wales to the small town of Merthyr each year.
It's all rubbish
Covanta's application is one of the first to go through the new planning system and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).
Designed to fast track planning applications by shortening the consultation process, it makes it much harder for local people to be heard and challenge the decisions.
Friends of the Earth is working with the community to:
- Raise awareness
- Encourage local people to get involved with the consultation process
- Challenge the application
- Highlight faults in the planning process
Are there any benefits?
The incinerator would undermine the National waste strategy for Wales.
It would force councils to commit to a 30 year contract to supply waste to the incinerator, rather than increasing recycling.
And very few jobs would be generated due to the high dependency on technology to run the incinerator.
There are no guidelines to test whether there's a need for such large developments or to look at its impact on climate change.
What's next?
We're expecting the application to be submitted next week, followed by a period of consultation.
Find out more about the latest news on this campaign.
© Mike Birkin
