Sheffield incinerator: toxic crime scene
The Government seems set on the massive expansion of incinerators across Britain. They've awarded over 60 contracts to subsidise new incinerators, one of the contracts is to make Britains biggest incinerator (Edmonton, north London) even bigger. Greenpeace thinks it should be shut down along with the 14 other municipal waste incinerators in Britain.
However you do it, burning rubbish produces a toxic cocktail of chemicals that are linked with cancer, asthma and birth defects. Acid gases, arsenic, lead, dioxins and particulates spew out of large incinerators chimneys at the rate of 80 wheelie bins per second. The thousands of tonnes of toxic ash are sent to landfill or spread over the country as aggregate for roads or buildings.
Burning resources does not provide the answer to our waste crisis. The solution is the intensive reuse, recyling and stabilisation of waste.
