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Post date: May 10, 2012 9:41:09 PM
Recent Local Headlines
Recent Local Headlines
There have been a number of significant local headlines concerning the proposed Gloucestershire incinerator recently
- Chairman of Stroud District Council leaves the Torys - among reasons cited was his disillusionment with Gloucestershire County Council's plans for the incinerator at Javelin Park. "The county are happy just to tick the box to say they have done the consultation and then ignore the public responses," he said.
- Stroud MP Neil Carmichael tells constituents he will oppose incinerator - after a prolonged period during which the Stroud MP's position on the incinerator was not declared, excellent news in that Mr Carmichael has now come out saying he will oppose it. This is is no small part thanks to the efforts of the 700 strong petition organised by a Stonehouse mother.
- Stroud District Council demands a halt on plans for £500 million incinerator - SDC’s development control committee raised nine points of objection to the incinerator plans and hinted at taking legal action against GCC in the future to prevent the project from going ahead.
The Incinerator Issue in the National News
The Incinerator Issue in the National News
- Private Eye recently ran a revealing article regarding incineration, as reported in the Stroud News and Journal. Private Eye said research published in academic journals in the US had found a ‘strong association’ between incinerators and ‘overall mortality, cardiovascular deaths and lung cancer’. The article reported that tough laws were passed in the US as far back as 1997 to ensure that ultra fine particles (PM2.5) released into the atmosphere by incinerators are kept to a minimum. But, Private Eye claims similar precautions to protect public health in this country have not been taken.
- Radio 4 "You and Yours" interview on opposition to incinerators around the country - excellent points made by Julian Kirby of Friends of the Earth putting the lie to the environmental claims made by the pro-incinerator lobby. (Fast forward to 19mins 50 seconds if it doesn't start automatically in the right place).
- Incineration as a way of producing electricity is already a method producing greater carbon emissions than average generation in this country today
- Government targets require electricity generated to be producing ten times less CO2 by 2030, meaning incinerators operating at that time will be producing around ten times more CO2 than this target - completely out of kilter with the objectives of reducing green house gas emissions in this country. The Gloucestershire Incinerator would be around the middle of its life at that point and be one such dirty culprit producing CO2 intensive electricity as we endeavour to reduce green house emissions
- Increased recycling is much more energy and resource efficient than burning our waste.
Cost issues are raised also. Tax payers can be at risk of having to meet fines due to failing incinerator projects. Stoke Council is an example whereby not enough rubbish was able to be sent to its incinerator as recycling was doing so well. This led to the cost of fines having to be met by local taxpayers -i.e. incineration creates a demand for waste that undermines recycling and can actually cost the taxpayer!
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