New incinerator waste of cash, green protestors claim

David Aust Share

30 July 2008

GREEN charity Friends of the Earth this week hit out at the possibility of a new waste incinerator being built in Coventry, claiming it will be a waste of money and damage the environment.
The city council has teamed up with neighbouring authorities in Solihull and Warwickshire to determine their future strategy for waste, with the existing Waste to Energy plant in Whitley - jointly owned by Coventry and Solihull councils - one of the main issues at stake.
The councils are considering bidding for private money to finance the construction of a larger incinerator - but campaigners are calling for more investment in recycling instead.
Coventry Friends of the Earth co-ordinator John Verdult said: “Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull councils are committing the council tax payer to spending £750 million on a new ‘super-incinerator’ which will tie us into high levels of CO2 emissions and low levels of recycling for the next 40 years.
"It makes no sense to tie us to incineration when the council also aims to recycle plastics and most organic waste including food. Without this ‘fuel’ the incinerator cannot function and will become an expensive white elephant."
Coun Hazel Noonan, the council's city services spokesman, said the councils had not yet made a decision on whether to proceed with the new incinerator, but pointed out it offered several advantages.
"People in Coventry are recycling, and they want to recycle more, but no matter how much is done, there will always be some household waste that can't be recycled, so the question is what we do about that," she added.
"We're very fortunate to have the Waste to Energy plant at a time when other authorities are having to put waste into landfill, which is not sustainable."
The council will begin consulting Coventry residents on its plans for waste disposal next month, and any bid for private finance will have to be submitted by the end of October.

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