Incinerators ‘come with high cost to our climate’

BURNING LARGE quantities of plastics in incinerators produces only small amounts of electricity, but comes with a high climate cost, according to campaigners.

A new report by the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network found that the UK’s 42 incinerators released a combined total of nearly 11m tonnes of carbon dioxide last year.

Just under half – 5m tonnes – was emitted through burning fossil-based materials like plastic, which is estimated to have resulted in an unpaid cost to society of around £325m.

Scientists consider increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, as the most important long-lived “forcing” of climate change.

The report estimates that over the next three decades the total cost to society of carbon dioxide released by current incinerators will equate to more than £25bn of harm arising from the release of around 205m tonnes of fossil carbon dioxide.

The campaigners are backing a tax on incineration in the autumn Budget, saying most of what is burned “could and should be recycled or composted”.

Associate Co-ordinator Josh Dowen said: “The study shows waste is a rubbish feedstock for generating energy. Burning large quantities of plastics gives rise to a small amount of electricity that comes with a high climate cost. To add insult to injury, those profiting from waste incineration are not paying for the huge cost to society of emitting all these greenhouse gases, and so a UK-wide waste incineration tax is long overdue”.

As well as reducing the need for landfill, supporters of incineration say local plants cut transport costs and produce electricity or heat. Nor do they add toxic elements to groundwater, as landfill can.