Incinerators with a low efficiency rating are on a par with landfill and should not be considered sustainable, according to Fiona Bruce, Conservative MP for Congleton.
Speaking during a debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday (October 26), Ms Bruce attacked plans by Covanta to build an incinerator in Middlewich in Cheshire, which she claimed had received “overwhelming” local objections.
She said: “I am reliably informed that normal efficiency of incinerators in the UK is about 25% and that the efficiency of the one in Middlewich, according to the company that wants to build it, would be, at best, 26%.”
Ms Bruce added that if a plant was not classed as ‘recovery' under the directive, it was instead a disposal operation, like landfill, commenting: “Let us not delude ourselves: in the waste hierarchy, a low efficiency rating is on a par with landfill.
As a result, she said she supported a recommendation made by the Sustainable Development Commission that the government should only support plants that produce a 65% return on burning waste.
Localism
During the debate, Ms Bruce also urged the government to honour its localism pledge by allowing local communities to decide how best to deal with their own waste.
This is important because, while planning permission for the Middlewich facility was refused earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story), the final decision will rest with the Secretary of State.
She said: “I am holding a file two inches thick, which is full of correspondence from my constituents. They do not want an incinerator 500 metres from Middlewich town. I have received no letters of support for an incinerator there -not one.”
Ms Bruce agreed with concerns raised during the session by Conservative MP for Weaver Vale, Graham Evans, that four incinerators were planned in Cheshire constituency and there may not be enough waste to feed them.
She said: “If the four planned incinerators in Cheshire go ahead, there will be over-provision. There is no need for a further facility in Middlewich.”
“Extremely important”
Responding to these concerns, environment minister James Paice said that incineration should not be viewed as a silver bullet but was nonetheless “extremely important” in diverting waste from landfill in line with the waste hierarchy.
He said: “We are carrying out a thorough review of waste policy, which we will publish next Spring. I cannot pre-empt the findings, but recovery of energy from some waste through incineration and other technologies such as anaerobic digestion is extremely important.”
Mr Paice pointed to other countries, such as the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries, where he said the use of energy from waste and recycling operated alongside each other successfully.
He said that he fully understood that there was a great deal of public concern over incineration, but stressed that there were no public health issues and concluded: “We are determined to be the greenest government ever, which means we must find a satisfactory alternative to landfill.”
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