Group says no to waste incinerator

4:20pm Friday 8th August 2008

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AN environmental group has spoken out against the council’s plans for an incinerator as part of its waste strategy.

The council is facing the challenge of significantly reducing rubbish to avoid fines of £150 for every tonne above the Government’s target.

Its preferred option of solving the town’s waste woes is by creating energy from waste.

This process burns rubbish under factory-controlled conditions to reduce its volume and hazardous properties and generate electricty from the heat.

Warrington Friends of the Earth says it is aware of just how crucial it is to reduce the quantity of rubbish but belives that an incinerator is not the most effective method.

A spokesman for the group said: “Incineration is an outdated, expensive and polluting technology. The inefficiency of energy production by incinerators and the fact that they divert waste from recycling, means that they are much worse for climate change than other technologies.”

Issues such as the expense of the facility and the long-term financial commitment through council tax were also highlighted as disadvantages.

The group believes that the council’s focus should be on maximising recycling, with a separate collection of food waste for treatment by composting or anaerobic digestion being introduced.

The spokesman added: “Separate food waste collections offer the biggest potential for improving recycling rates, meeting targets for reducing how much we landfill and reducing the pressure for new incinerators.”

The green group would like to see waste that can’t be recycled (from black bins) being processed by mechanical biological treatment that produces refuse derived fuel, with a small amount being sent to landfill.

The spokesman added: “Research has found this to be a much better treatment in terms of climate change.”

Warrington Friends of the Earth are encouraging residents to let the council know their views on an incinerator in the town by downloading the consultation questionnaire from www.warrington.gov.uk, calling 443322 or e-mailing wastewatchers@warring ton.gov.uk.

A spokesman for Warrington Borough Council said: “The solution that Friends of the Earth have suggested is one that we modelled in our initial consultation process.

“It was felt that it did not perform as well as other models we tested or with the model we are proposing.

It must also be recognised that there has been public and stakeholder involvement in the creation of the draft waste strategy, currently out for consultation.

“The recommendations contained within the draft strategy reflect the views of those Warrington householders and stakeholders, and not purely those of the council.

“’We’ll be happy to discuss the issues with Warrington Friends of the Earth when we meet. “