Toxic toll of incinerators burning so much waste
THE incinerator boom must be stopped amid public health concerns, MPs warned yesterday.
Britain is on the verge of burning more waste than it recycles for the first time, and the MPs called on the Government to take oversight of the industry and introduce an ‘incineration tax’.
Some councils send more than 80 per cent of rubbish for incineration – despite much of it being recyclable material such as plastic. This is partly due to local authorities locking themselves into contracts of 25 years or more with incinerator firms, giving them an incentive to burn waste rather than recycle it.
But new research reveals that harmful particles released by incinerators in England last year were equivalent to the emissions of more than a 250,000 lorries each travelling 75,000 miles a year.
The smallest particles can pass into the blood and airways and cause breathing problems, heart and lung disease.
Earlier this year, the Daily Mail revealed that local authorities had allowed 21 new incinerators to spring up across Britain since 2010, bringing the total to 44. A further 18 are under construction.
A report by campaign group UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) – released yesterday with support from MPs of all parties – claims incinerators across Britain are failing to properly report their levels of dangerous pollutants.
At a House of Lords meeting, politicians called for an incineration tax – similar to taxes on landfill which have dramatically decreased the amount of waste dumped.
Labour MP David Drew, shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs, said: ‘Incinerator pollution is a matter of serious concern for many of my constituents.
‘We need to halt the building of incinerators and there are many arguments in favour of taxing existing incinerators. It is right for polluters to be expected to pay for the pollution they cause.’
Conservative MP Philip Davies added: ‘ Incinerators are being foisted on local communities right across the country and yet the damage that they cause to the local environment is not fully known.’
Lib Dem peer Lord Tyler said: ‘The Government seems unconcerned about adequately monitoring the emissions from incinerators and has allowed this monitoring loophole to go unchecked.’
The Environment Agency requires incinerators – also known as energyfrom-waste plants – to report levels of harmful tiny pollutants if they exceed one tonne, but the body which represents the industry says they are too small to be properly recorded, so specific emissions are not published.
But UKWIN, using official Environment Agency figures, has calculated that an incinerator burning 45,455 tonnes a year emits one tonne of the dangerous pollutants.
Libby Forrest of the Environmental Services Association, which speaks on behalf of the energy-from-waste industry, said: ‘ Public Heath England has looked carefully at energyfrom-waste plants and concluded that modern, well-managed plants make only a “small contribution” to local air pollution, and any health impacts “if they exist, are likely to be very small and not detectable”.’
‘Pay for pollution they cause’