Archived press release

Swerve the SWERF! Derby Council Told: Block New Incinerator Plan

14 February 2002

A new type of incinerator which wastes resources and pollutes the local environment is being considered by Derby City Council planning committee on Thursday (14 February).

The ”SWERF” (solid waste and energy recycling facility), proposed by Brightstar Environmental[1], would recycle only a fifth of the waste it receives. The rest would be treated by gasification[2] - the first time this process would have been used in the UK [3]. Derby City Council admits that it has not followed government guidance by exploring other waste management options,and evaluating the best environmental option (BPEO).

The Brightstar plant would waste recyclable resources such as newspapers, plastics and kitchen waste. Osmaston (where the SWERF would be sited) is already the 9th most polluted industrial suburb in the UK (out of 800). The area suffers some of the UK's worst health statistics,including low birth weight, high rates of death from lung and heart disease and high child accident rates. The SWERF would produce pollutants including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, arsenic and dioxins.

The extra traffic generated (approx. 60 cars and 200 lorries daily) will increase pollution and congestion in two Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), designated because the council knows air quality standards will not be met in these areas.

Claire Wilton, Incinerator Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, commented:

“The SWERF is just incineration by another name. Just like incineration it is polluting,wasteful and deeply unpopular. Gasification in Osmaston is bad news for one of the poorest and most polluted areas in the UK. But it's not the only option. Local people should be given quality kerbside recycling collections and large-scale composting schemes instead. Derby Council must say no to this plant, which uses untested technology and wastes resources which should be recycled.”

Notes

[1] Brightstar Environmental applied on 27 September 2001 to build the SWERF at Sinfin Lane, Osmaston to gasify 50,000 tonnes of waste a year until 2005 and 222,000 tonnes after 2005. Gasifiers are classified as an incinerator under the EU Waste Incineration Directive and by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

[2] The SWERF process removes some (but not all) recyclables - glass, aluminium, steel. The rest is heated and turned into a synthetic gas, which is then used to generate electricity. As materials including plastics and paper are treated, the electricity has a fossil fuel element and cannot be called “green energy”, as Brightstar claims - it will still contribute to climate change.

[3] Brightstar Environmental is part of the Australian company Energy Development Ltd (EDL) which has recently seen its share price plummet, as its new technology fails to meet expectations. The first full-scale commercial gasifer plant built by Brightstar at Wollongong in New South Wales has not yet proved to be commercially viable.

“Swerve the SWERF - it's no good for the Earth” is a community group that has been set up in Derby to oppose the plans. It is twinned with parent group SWERVE THE SWERF in Australia and a new toxic campaign group in New Delhi, to fight the same proposals.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust