Greenpeace provides the answer to waste crisis

Greenpeace tells local authorities 'no need to build incinerators'

International environment group Greenpeace has produced a guide for UK local authorities, which explains how to deal with the mounting national waste crisis without resorting to unpopular and polluting waste incinerators.

The guide, How to comply with the Landfill Directive without incineration: a Greenpeace blueprint, explains that organising efficient kerbside collection and composting of kitchen and garden waste is the single most significant step authorities can take.

The UK is currently faced with a massive wave of new waste incinerators because councils believe they have to burn waste in order to meet new legal requirements on disposing of biodegradable rubbish at landfills. The Greenpeace guide makes clear that no local authority has to build an incinerator to stay within the law and that there are practical alternatives available which are better for the environment and people. The report was reviewed by waste company BIFFA which has confirmed that the solutions in the report are practical.

The report offers proven solutions to waste reduction without incineration. The answer is source separation of waste into three streams; dry recyclables, compostable material and residuals - and modern, in-vessel composting systems. The report gives detailed information on how a maximum amount of waste can be collected and the much reduced residual waste cleaned, stabilised and disposed of in landfill.

It also gives examples of successful schemes in England, Canada and Australia. In Canberra, Australia, the recovery of waste without incineration has jumped from 22% to 66% in six years. Closer to home, Wealden, in East Sussex, has increased its recycling rate from 4% to 53% in two years in areas where it has introduced kerbside recycling. In Wye, Kent, domestic waste has been reduced by 75% through a comprehensive re-use, composting and recycling scheme.

Mark Strutt, Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace, said: "Too many local authorities are still looking at waste with blinkers on and saying 'if we can't landfill then we'll have to incinerate'. This report shows that is clearly not the case. The opportunities for local authorities to act now and accelerate their shift towards high recycling and composting systems are clearer than ever before. There are no good reasons for any local authority to ever build a waste incinerator again."

People living near incinerators risk exposure to a cocktail of toxic chemicals. Numerous studies confirm that all incinerators release lead, cadmium, mercury and fine particles into the atmosphere. But the most notorious by-product of burning rubbish is dioxins, which are formed when substances that contain chlorine, like PVC, are burnt. Dioxins are highly toxic and accumulate in the food chain. The most dangerous 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 science.

The burning of household rubbish also leads to the formation of many other new and toxic chemical compounds. The number of new substances released from incineration may run into thousands and these will be emitted both as toxic gases from chimneys and as contaminated ash. This leads to the contamination of air, soil and groundwater, as well as plants, animal and humans.

Notes for editors:
1. The EU Landfill Directive requires that by 2010 the UK must reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill by 25% measured against a 1995 baseline. By 2013 the reduction must be 50% and by 2020 it must reach 65%.
2. List of incinerators operational, under construction, or approved but not yet constructed in England and Wales. Written answer (15 October 2000) in response to parliamentary question by Norman Baker MP.

O = Operational
U/C = Under construction
A = Approved but not yet constructed
P = Planned

Plant name	District	Status
Nottingham	Nottingham	O
Edmonton	Enfield	O
SELCHP	Lewisham	O
Blevedere	Bexley	P
Edmonton B	Enfield	P
Cleveland	Stockton on Tees	O
Bolton	Bolton	O
Chineham	Basingstoke & Deane	A
Allington	Maidstone	A
Capel, Surrey	Mole Valley	P
Guildford	Guildford	P
Colnbrook	Slough	A
Marchwood	New Forest	A
Redhill	Reigate & Banstead	P
Ridham Dock	Swale district council	P
S. Portsmouth	Portsmouth	P
Coventry	Coventry	O
Dudley	Dudley	O
Stoke on Trent	Stoke on Trent	O
Tyseley	Birmingham	O
Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton	O
Worcester	Worcester	P
Goole	East Riding	P
Grimsby	NE Lincolnshire	P
Hull	Hull	P
Kirkleesy	Kirklees	U/C
Sheffield	Sheffield	O
Wrexham	Wrexham	P
Crymlyn Burrows	Neath Port Talbot	U/C