Archived press release

Friends of the Earth slams Government love affair with incinerators

14 February 2006

Friends of the Earth today highlighted proposals for 22 new municipal waste incinerators in England - which would more then double the current number - and called on the Government to end its love affair with incineration. The warning comes as Ministers chose Valentines Day to unveil a draft waste strategy which promotes incineration as the answer to England's waste crisis.

Among the new incinerators under consideration is a plant in Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle's notorious incinerator hit the headlines in 2001after toxic ash from the plant - containing dangerously high levels of cancer causing chemicals - was spread on allotments in the city. Public opposition forced the council to shut down the incinerator in 2003 but now new proposals have been put forward which include incineration.

Bill Hopwood, a Byker resident and a member of BAN Waste, the award winning local group which fought the incinerator, said:

“People in Newcastle, like people right across the country, do not want incinerators. Recycling and composting are by far the most efficient ways of dealing with waste. If the council focused its efforts in these areas we would not need an incinerator.”

Friends of the Earth's Waste and Resource Campaigner Anna Watson said:

“The Government is trying to sell incinerators to the British public as sources of green energy yet this is nothing more then a cynical exercise in spin. Recycling saves more energy than is created by burning waste, and once built incinerators lock councils in to supplying them with large amounts of waste that could be better recycled or composted. The Government should tackle the UK's waste crisis by taking action to reduce the amount we generate and promoting a huge expansion in recycling and composting.”

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to implement a three-step plan to deal with Britain's waste crisis:

1. Reduce the amount of waste generated: the Government needs to set an ambitious waste prevention target and adopt policies to ensure that it is met. For example through support for services that collect and reuse or recycle bulky waste such as electrical goods or furniture.
2. Redesign: The Government should put regulatory and financial pressure on manufacturers and retailers to ensure that they design-out waste from their products, or make them recyclable or compostable if prevention is not possible.
3. Recycle and compost at least 75 per cent of UK waste: the UK currently recycles just under 20 per cent of its domestic waste; one of the worst rates in Europe

Such measures would drastically cut the amount of waste produced. Any remaining waste could be further processed before land-filling, to reduce its volume and avoid greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites, Friends of the Earth said.

Proposed incinerators

East

• Peterborough
• Costossey, Norfolk

East Midlands

• Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
• Derby, Derbyshire

London

• Belvedere, Bexley
• Old Ford Works, Dagenham

North East

• Newcastle
• Ellesmere Port, Cheshire

South East

• Newhaven, East Sussex
• Woking, Surrey
• Capel, Surrey
• Medway, Kent

South West

• Cornwall
• 2 - 3 sites, Dorset
• Bristol
• Devon

West Midlands

• Nuneaton, Warwickshire

Yorkshire & the Humber

• Hull - near Marfleet
• Leeds
• York

Current incinerators

East Midlands

• Eastcroft, Nottingham (applying for an extension)

London

• Lewisham
• Edmonton, Enfield

North East

• Haverton Hill, Billingham, Cleveland

North West

• Bolton, Greater Manchester

South East

• Marchwood, Southampton, Hampshire
• Portsmouth, Hampshire
• Isle of Wight
• Chineham, Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Allington, Maidstone, Kent (approval for build)
• Colnbrook, Slough, Berkshire (approval for build)

West Midlands

• Coventry
• Tyseley, Birmingham
• Dudley
• Wolverhampton
• Stoke on Trent

Yorkshire & the Humber

• Stallingborough, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire
• Huddersfield, Kirklees
• Sheffield

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust