Greenpeace today revealed Government contracts for a massive network of waste incinerators to burn Britain's household rubbish (1). Taxpayers money is to be used to subsidise a four-fold increase in municipal waste incinerators across the country, despite evidence that burning rubbish produces a toxic cocktail of chemicals can cause cancer, asthma attacks and birth defects.
Currently there are 15 municipal waste incinerators in the UK but the Government has awarded another 62 contracts. A further 10 incinerators are in planning or under construction, bringing the to total to 87. The Government contracts are spread across the UK from the South East to the South West, Wales to Scotland. Cities like London, Newcastle, Hull, Portsmouth, Manchester and Glasgow are all under threat from this massive expansion.
Rob Gueterbock, Greenpeace campaigner said, "This incinerator epidemic threatens communities across the UK. The Government should be shutting down these cancer factories not using taxpayers money to build more."
The burning of household rubbish leads to the formation of new and sometimes toxic chemical compounds. The number of new substances released from incineration may run into thousands, the effects of most of which scientists know nothing about. Incinerators emit these substances both as toxic gases from their chimneys and as contaminated ash that then has to be deposited in landfill. This can lead to the contamination of air, soil and ground water, as well as plants, animals and humans.
The most notorious by-product of burning rubbish is dioxin, which is formed when substances that contain chorine, like PVC plastic, are burnt. Dioxins are highly toxic and accumulate in the food chain. The most toxic dioxin is classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and has been described as the most toxic chemical known to human society. It is estimated that incineration accounts for 40-80% of atmospheric dioxins in industrial countries.
In August, new research found that between 1974 and 1987, children who lived within 5km of incinerators were twice as likely to die of cancer (2). Many of the incinerators studied have now been closed but even the most modern incinerators emit chemicals known to cause cancer, including dioxins and heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. These emissions, together ultra-fine particles and acid gases such as nitrogen oxides, also have a range of other impacts on human health including respiratory problems, such as asthma, and birth defects.
Burning rubbish not only threatens the environment and human health but also undermines targets for waste reduction and recycling. Contracts with incinerator operators often lock local authorities into long term commitments to provide huge amounts of waste each year. Council tax payers are paying to have their rubbish burnt, diverting money away from recycling.
Greenpeace is concerned that in an attempt to disguise their real nature, incinerators are now often called 'Waste to Energy' facilities. 'Waste to Energy' facilities use some of the heat to produce electricity. The Government is then able to say it is meeting its target to provide a percentage of our electricity from 'renewable' sources. This means it can use money earmarked for green energy projects like wind power for building dirty incinerators.
Gueterbock added, "It is a scandal that the Government can use money meant for genuine green energy like wind, wave and solar power, which are essential if we are to avoid global warming and instead squander it on dirty electricity, which threatens children with asthma and cancers."
Notes to editors:
(1) The contracts were awarded under the Non Fossil-Fuel Obligation (NFFO). The contract details were sourced from ETSU the DTI's energy advisors. Other data was sourced from the Energy from Waste association.
(2) Knox E.G. (2000). Childhood cancers, birthplaces, incinerators and landfill sites. International Journal of Epidemiology 29:391-397
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