Today, it's time for a 'yes' or 'no' to Gloucestershire's £500m incinerator after eight years of debate. Here, both sides give their views.NO: Diana Shirley, campaigner from Gloucestershire Against Incinerators
INCINERATION is an outdated, inflexible technology. The 25-year contract would prevent the uptake of technological advances.
INCINERATION is an outdated, inflexible technology. The 25-year contract would prevent the uptake of technological advances.
Incinerators are being closed in some countries.
Flexible, cheaper, environmentally friendly alternatives, like mechanical biological treatment and anaerobic digestion, have not been seriously considered.
These alternatives would allow second-chance recycling, provide gas for the grid and could divert up to 95 per cent of waste from landfill. Defra withdrew Gloucestershire's private finance initiative funding and say no more incinerators are required.
Waste levels have been reducing since 2006. They are continuing to fall.
Recyclable, scarce and irreplaceable resources will be destroyed 24/7.
Incineration is hazardous for both people and planet. As the waste technology with the highest CO2 emissions, it will accelerate global warming.
Heat produced will be ejected into the atmosphere and not utilised, a requirement expected to be enforced by the EU for new facilities in 2014. Incineration turns inert materials into hazardous dioxins and furans, some of which will be widely dispersed in the open air; some hazardous ash will be landfilled and some converted into building products (causing disposal problems for future generations).
No research has been produced to prove that incineration is 100 per cent guaranteed to be safe.
The proposed location is inappropriate.
The incinerator would ruin the setting of and the views from the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.YES: Javier Peiro, project director from Urbaser Balfour Beatty
IT is clear that Gloucestershire needs an alternative to landfill, and an energy-from-waste facility will provide a cost-effective solution for the county's significant amount of waste.
IT is clear that Gloucestershire needs an alternative to landfill, and an energy-from-waste facility will provide a cost-effective solution for the county's significant amount of waste.
It will divert 92 per cent of waste from landfill, increase Gloucestershire's renewable energy production by over 50 per cent, and generate electricity to power 25,000 homes. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking nearly a million cars off the road.
We have a strong track record in building and running similar facilities. Urbaser are waste management experts with over 200 waste treatment facilities, and Balfour Beatty is a respected and experienced construction company employing 53,000 people.
The facility has been designed in line with the advice and guidance of (amongst others) the UK Government, Environment Agency, Health Protection Agency and Highways Agency, and despite scaremongering from opposition groups, there is broad support for the project.
We will provide a range of professional, skilled and unskilled employment opportunities and apprenticeships for local people.
The process will also help increase recycling, recovering 30,000 tonnes of sustainable aggregates each year and, over the life of the contract, enough metal to build over 6,000 Javelin planes. The visitor and education centre will help raise awareness of environmental issues and will be a valuable community asset. We hope that Gloucestershire county councillors vote yes for the economy and environment.■ The county council declined to comment ahead of the planning committee today. READ ALL ABOUT IT...
92 per cent of waste would be diverted from landfill.
Up to 190,000 tonnes of waste to be burnt per year.
Electricity to power 25,000 homes generated. That's 116,000 MWhrs every year.
Bottom ash produced during incineration will be reused for road-building in the county.
Gloucestershire County Council's contract with Urbaser Balfour Beatty is for 25 years.
The facility is designed to treat all of the county's residual municipal waste that has not been otherwise recycled or composted.
Around £190million could be saved by not paying out landfill taxes over 25 years.
Around 300 jobs will be created during construction, along with 40 jobs to run the plant.
Gloucestershire County Council would take a share of any excess profits.
The burner will take three years to construct. Without any delays, it could be open by summer 2016.
It will cost £150million to build, with the overall project coming in at around £500million.
It will primarily deal with household waste. But any spare capacity will be filled by commercial and industrial waste of similar composition sourced from Gloucestershire.
The site is 5.1 hectares in size and forms the southern part of Javelin Park.
The highest point of the facility is 48 metres. At its widest, the building will be 55 metres high, and the entire facility is 236 metres in length. The chimney stack will be 70 metres in height.
