Costs to the Taxpayer

• The incinerator will cost £500m (half a billion pounds) and be paid for by taxpayers. This represents one of the largest contracts that the County Council has ever entered into
• There are serious concerns about the council's financial calculations and forecasts of waste production however that present a risk to the taxpayer's of Gloucestershire
• The council claims that, over the 25 year period, they will save £150 million, as compared to continuing to use landfill, however the council’s forecasts of waste production are seriously flawed, and we estimate that it will in fact cost the taxpayer as much as £105 million. See the Stroud News and Journal reporting this here.
• However, it will provide huge profits for the contractor and their bankers

Employment

• This is a massive investment, paid for by us, in a time of recession and yet will provide a mere 30 jobs.
• Alternative technologies have the potential to create many more jobs e.g. through related expansion of recycling jobs.

Economy and Resources