Cheltenham MP Signs Anti-incinerator Petition

Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham and Liberal Democrat shadow environment minister, signed the Gloucestershire Friends of the Earth Network (GFOEN) petition today at 11.45am on the steps of Cheltenham Town Hall. This will mean opposition is gathering to a large scale incinerator in Gloucestershire.

Martin said “In Gloucestershire, of all places, we should be rejecting this outdated, dirty technology. It’s bad enough that Wingmoor Farm near Bishop’s Cleeve has to accept toxic fly ash from around the country without our own County Council adding to it. Once installed and locked into this very long contract, we’ll have to keep feeding waste into the incinerator, even if that waste would have been better recycled. And we could even incur penalties if we fail to produce enough waste. How daft when we should be cutting down on the amount of waste we produce in the first place and what a risk to take with public money. We could end up burning more money than anything else.”

The County Council recently announced their £646 million PFI contract to the waste industry for the first round of bidding and has confirmed that they would expect the contract to include building a new facility. It has used incineration as its model for the £92 million PFI credits and has purchased Javelin Park at the cost of over £7 million.

The County Council has decided not to tell the waste industry what it thinks is best for Gloucestershire; instead the decision has been left to the waste industry. A large incinerator with a contract for at least 25 years is likely to give the best profit return BUT many believe is not the best outcome for Gloucestershire. Local taxpayers will be forced to foot the bill without even being consulted if they want an incinerator.

GFOEN believe that incinerators are inflexible, expensive, produce toxic fly ash and are bad for climate change. They are campaigning for an alternative plan, based on reducing waste over time, composting and recycling as much as possible, and small scale flexible facilities for what remains.

Mary Newton GFOEN Waste Officer said, “The waste industry is interested in profit not what is best for Gloucestershire. It is critical that people say no now to a large scale incinerator anywhere in Gloucestershire and they need to say it loudly and clearly, so that it is heard by the County Council, the waste industry and the government. Otherwise we will be saddled with a long term contract for an unwanted technology. To wait until the decision is made is too late.”