Open letter calls on new Government to ban new incinerators
The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), together with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and 42 other organisations, has today (31st July 2024) published an open letter setting out the urgent case for a ban on new incineration capacity.
The letter, which has been sent to Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh, welcomes the Government’s recent announcement that “creating a roadmap to move Britain to a zero waste economy” is one of Defra’s core priorities and calls on Government Ministers to take steps to ensure that waste incineration does not undermine the commitment to recycling improvements and waste minimisation efforts.
According to the letter, England has 22 million tonnes of incineration capacity including nearly 5 million tonnes currently under construction. The letter argues that this already exceeds the 15.5 million tonnes of waste that would be available for incineration by 2030 if waste falls in line with the Government target to halve residual waste per capita by 2042.
The letter warns that allowing construction of the nearly 10 million tonnes of additional capacity with planning permission that has yet to enter construction would go against the waste management hierarchy.
Shlomo Dowen, National Coordinator of UKWIN explained that: “The recycling rates for both Wales and Scotland improved after these nations introduced a moratorium on new incineration capacity in 2021. It is vital that a halt to new English incineration capacity is brought in straight away, as England has far too many waste incinerators and this is holding back recycling”.
This joint letter comes shortly after the Climate Change Committee re-iterated their own call for a moratorium on additional Energy from Waste incineration capacity “until a review of capacity requirements has been completed and an updated assessment of residual waste treatment capacity requirements published”.
Commenting on the adverse climate impacts of incineration, the open letter explains how: “Energy generated from burning waste comes with a higher carbon intensity than gas and sometimes coal, so a ban on new incineration capacity would support Labour’s ambitious manifesto commitment to deliver zero-carbon electricity by 2030”.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Notes:
The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) is a network of anti-incineration campaigners and local campaign groups who oppose incineration because of adverse impacts on recycling, climate change, resource security, health and the environment.
The open letter, including the full list of signatories, is available at: https://ukwin.org.uk/files/
A Press kit, including graphics, is available at: https://ukwin.org.uk/UKWIN-
On 18th July 2024 the Climate Change Committee published their 2024 Progress Report to Parliament. Page 95 of the Report repeats Priority R2023-073 for Waste which states that: “Address rising energy from waste emissions. Implement a whole-systems approach to address energy from waste (EfW) emissions, including setting out the implications of rising EfW use for waste decarbonisation and the need for carbon capture and storage. A moratorium on additional EfW capacity should be introduced subject to a review of capacity needs and how they align with the Government’s emissions pathways. Further clarity is also needed on how decisions on allowing further EfW plants will be made.”
The Climate Change Committee’s 2023 progress report explained the incinerator moratorium request in more detail, with page 28 of the Report stating: “…We recommend a moratorium on additional EfW capacity until a review of capacity requirements has been completed and an updated assessment of residual waste treatment capacity requirements published.”
Both the 2023 and 2024 reports from the Climate Change Committee are available at https://www.theccc.org.uk/
