Archived press release

Incinerators still bad news as pollution standards tightened

16 January 2003

GOVERNMENT URGED TO SUPPORT NEW RECYCLING LAW

New standards on incineration announced by the Government today will not make incinerators the answer to our waste problems, Friends of the Earth said. The Government has implemented an EU Directive setting a new limit of 0.1ng/m3 for dioxins. Friends of the Earth called on the Government to support Joan Ruddock’s Private Members Bill which would provide every household in England and Wales with a doorstep recycling service [1].

Local community groups and Friends of the Earth will continue to oppose incinerators for the following reasons:

• According to the Department of Health over a third of adults are exposed to levels of dioxins in excess of the tolerable daily limit recommended by the World Health Organisation. Toddlers are exposed to more than twice the recommended level and breast-fed babies up to 170 times above recommended levels. Further releases of dioxins are not acceptable until the Government has a strategy to reduce exposure to below recommended levels.
  (see p20-25 www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consult/dioxins/pdf/dioxins_consult.pdf (PDF†))
  

• The UK still has one of the worst recycling records in Europe and the majority of people do not have a doorstep recycling service. This is why Joan Ruddock has introduced the Doorstep Recycling Bill. Friends of the Earth has organised a Parliamentary lobby on Wednesday (22 January) to urge MPs to vote for the Bill when it is debated in the House of Commons on Friday 14 March.
  

• Recent research shows that incineration is one of the worst options for waste and that treating the waste left after recycling by composting followed by landfill is better for the climate as well as human toxicity.
  (Seewww.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/maximising_recycling_rates.pdf (PDF† 175K))
  

Friends of the Earth’s Incineration Campaigner Claire Wilton said:
“These new pollution standards will not stifle opposition to incinerators. Communities want to recycle their waste, not burn it. The Government should impose a moratorium on the building of new incinerators and get behind Joan Ruddock’s Bill to provide every household with a decent doorstep recycling service.”

The latest list of incinerator proposals is available from Friends of the Earth

1. The Doorstep Recycling Bill was drawn up by Friends of the Earth and has been introduced to Parliament as a Private Members Bill by Lewisham Deptford MP Joan Ruddock. Although calls for comprehensive doorstep recycling have received backing from well over half of MPs (384 out of 659) it will only become law if enough of them turn up and vote for it when it is debated in the House of Commons. The first debate is on 14 March. More info: www.foe.co.uk/waste_lobby

Waste facts and figures

• Nine out of ten people in England and Wales would recycle more waste if it was made easier according to an Environment Agency survey (EA Press Release 23 May 2002).
  
  

• Around 80 per cent of household waste could be either recycled or composted, dramatically reducing the need for landfill
  
  
• The average household produces around a tonne of waste each year. The amount of waste produced in the UK is rising by over three per cent per annum.
  
  
• In April 2002, the Environment Agency warned that space for burying rubbish in the South East could run out within seven years.
  
  
• Incineration is deeply unpopular. Community groups around the country oppose incineration proposals because of concerns about the risk to health and the environmental impact. Once built, incinerators need more and more waste, which could otherwise be recycled, to make them economically viable.
  
  
• By 2020 the amount of UK municipal waste is set to double (Government Strategy Unit);
  
  
• The UK uses over 6 billion glass containers each year, amounting to over 2 million tonnes. Less than quarter (22 per cent) were recycled in 1998. The European average is 50 per cent, with some countries recycling 80 per cent. (British Glass)
  
  
• Up to 90 per cent of new glass could be made from reclaimed scrap glass. (British Glass).
  
  
• Recycling aluminium can bring energy savings of up to 95 % and produce 95 % less greenhouse gas emissions than when it is produced from raw materials. (Alupro)
  
  
• Around 20,000 tonnes of aluminium foil packaging (worth £8 million) is wasted each year. Only 3,000 tonnes is recycled.
  
  
• Packaging is typically 25-35 per cent (by weight) of dustbin waste.
  
  
• Plastic bags sent to landfill take around 500 years to decay. The UK uses 500 million of these each week. A tax on plastic bags in Ireland has resulted in a 90% reduction in their consumption. More than 9 million euros (£5.73 million) was raised during the first four months of the scheme. The money will be used to fund new waste management and other environmental initiatives. The ban was introduced in March this year. Shoppers are now charged about 10p for each bag they take from supermarkets and other shopping outlets. Before the legislation was enacted, an estimated 1.2 billion bags were handed out to Irish shoppers free of charge each year.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust