Planning permission for the Devonport incinerator was voted in by Plymouth town council 7 to 5 on the 22nd December. Is it too late to overturn?
We must remember that the implications of this project are that unless we wake up and eliminate our non recycled waste then we will end up inhaling some of it-quite a strong message. There has been much debate within the committee and we would welcome views from the wider membership.
Here are some of the environmental arguments in favour and against incineration to get things going:
Pros(mostly taken from a presentation early in the year at Burraton Community Centre which was organised by the German Company that would develop the incinerator)
Stop transporting and dumping thousands of tons of Devon waste in Cornwall causing road pollution (several lorry loads cross the Tamar Bridge each day) and methane and water pollution from the landfill site which I believe is currently near Taphouse-the landfill tax quite rightly is starting to make this prohibitive.
Burn the waste close to the people that make the rubbish-50% of the rubbish will be fed directly from dust carts into the incinerator from the streets of Plymouth-if they don't want it they could stop generating the waste.
I am told that the pollution from the process is minimal with advanced technology and is acceptable in Germany and Switzerland which have very high environmental standards
I am told that the company is using proven technology
I asked about batteries and other metals and materials which could contaminate the waste and the Company showed all the range of filters and after burners which would remove such contamination
The company pointed out that they have to demonstrate that the exhaust gases meet the air standards they are claiming
Heat will be generated from the plant for the dockyard. They claim that in Switzerland it is used for housing heating
ConsMore rubbish in the atmosphere
Bad for the people who live in the development area as may affect their house values
From a NIMBY viewpoint the prevailing wind will send any pollution back to the people who are generating the rubbish and their council has now decided that this is acceptable.
30 year lock-in contract. In order to fund the building of the incinerator under PFI the Councils (Plymouth and most of Devon) sign a contract to provide a minimum tonnage of feedstock (waste) for 30 years. This locks out any future changes in the way waste is managed - for example a successful drive to reduce the quantity of waste generated, or a new technology like recycling plastic from the waste stream becoming mainstream, or a depression reducing the amount of waste produced, or other increases in recycling.... the council just has to go on paying them to incinerate the waste whether it is there or not.
The site will be burning industrial and commercial waste from Torbay, Devon, and South East Cornwall for starters. There are NO restrictions as to how much waste will be burnt and from where the waste will come. In order to get the waste to the site, and carry the toxic ash away there will be 264 HGV lorries every single day. The impact of this will be massive, let alone if any lorry carrying toxic ash has an accident. The waste incidentally will be transported to Buckfastleigh and dumped in a quarry there. The residents are less than happy for obvious reasons.
A large proportion of the incinerator will be in flood zone1! it will be very close to our railway line, and the closest homes will be 60m away and there will be a 95ft tower. It has not been denied that the local residents will lose all sunlight in their homes, and the constant noise from the plant, and the additional traffic thundering past will impact their lives considerably, in an already deprived area where people are earning lower than average wages, and the life expectancy is also lower than average. The company responsible for building the incinerator has already given Western Mill primary school a significant amount of money as way of recompense. The human rights of these people have not been considered.
The health implications of the incinerator have not been explored as there have been no other incinerators built in such a densely populated area . It will be years before anyone can really know how breathing in all the toxic fumes will affect us, but I can guarantee it will not be good.
The toxic dust cloud will spread as far as Bere Ferrers, St Germans, and Millbrook so everyone in Saltash will be affected even if they don’t know it.
It is an outdated form of waste control and has been banned in the states for its negative impact on peoples health.
The carbon footprint will also be massive, there are better solutions and this plant will be burning many items which can easily recycled such as plastics, glass, paper and cardboard to name a few. There are better alternatives. The website www.iiw.org.uk incineration is wrong outlines a few alternatives for our waste problem.
Note: The Ernesettle incinerator was rejected, an incinerator in St Dennis got planning permission but then went to judicial review and was rejected, and the councillors in Kings Lynn forced a referendum, and Caroline Spellman ( a Westminster MP) had the decision over turned.
