Burning household rubbish a “disaster for the climate” the BBC reports having just released a major investigation into incineration.
It found that nearly half of the rubbish produced in UK homes, including increasing amounts of plastic, is now being incinerated. Scientists warn it is a “disaster for the climate” – and some are calling for a ban on new incinerators.
The broadcaster examined five years of data from across the country, and found that burning household rubbish and waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power. The Environmental Services Association, which represents waste firms, contested the BBC’s findings and said emissions from dealing with waste are “challenging to avoid”.
Some 15 years ago the government became seriously concerned with the gases being produced from disposing household rubbish in landfill so it increased the taxes UK councils paid for burying waste. Councils turned to energy-from-waste plants – a type of incinerator that produces electricity from burning rubbish. The number of incinerators surged – in the past five years the number in England alone has risen from 38 to 52. About 3.1% of the UK’s energy comes from waste incinerators. Many believed that incineration was the green alternative.
However, in the past few years, Wales and Scotland have introduced bans on new incinerator plants over environmental concerns, and there have been increasing calls from leading academics and environmental groups for the same to happen in England and Northern Ireland. Voices include the UK Climate Change Committee, which has recommended that no more plants be built without efforts to capture all their carbon emissions. However, according to Friends of the Earth Scotland, a loophole in the Scottish legislation means that more incinerators are still being built.
There is only one carbon capture pilot project operating, at Ferrybridge EfW in West Yorkshire which collects one tonne of carbon dioxide a day – but the site produces more than half a million tonnes of CO2 annually. Read more about the scheme here.
In April, a temporary ban on permits for new incinerators was introduced in England by the previous Conservative government, while it reviewed the role of burning waste, but when the ban lapsed in May it was not continued. It appears that the current government has yet to decide its position on the issue.
Meanwhile many families who live nearby have shared a £1m settlement after 180 of them launched a legal action over the pollution and disturbances from the Runcorn incinerator in Cheshire. It’s the biggest in the UK. However, some did not, as the deal involved residents signing a strict non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in order to get payment worth about £4,500 per family after legal costs. Because they refused to sign you can read the full ‘Runcorn’ story here.