Heard before His Honour Judge Mervyn Roberts
Crown Prosecution Service: Mr Christopher Ball QC and Mr Morris
Defending: Mr Owen Davies QC and Ms Judy Khan
The day began with the testimony of Christian Aslund, a freelance photographer and videographer from Sweden who works for Greenpeace as well as newspapers, magazines and television channels in Sweden and Norway. He explained to the jury that there is always a camera present during Greenpeace actions, for two main reasons, it works to calm people down and protect the safety of all, and also as a documenting device.
Mr Aslund said that he felt the campaign against incineration was important enough to get involved in the events at Edmonton incinerator.
Asked by Owen Davies QC, "What is Swedish for dioxin?", Mr Alsund answered, "Dioxin."
The next defendant to be called to the witness box was Frank Hewetson, Logistics Co-ordinator for Greenpeace UK. Judy Khan told the court that Mr Hewetson had a City and Guilds qualification in Engineering Processes and Welding, and had done numerous courses on industrial safety. He had also passed the IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) course, which is recognised by the Health and Safety Executive, and has been a keen climber for the past eleven years.
Mr Hewetson told the jury that he had worked on an anti-incineration campaign (with Greenpeace, a local action group and the local council) which succeeded in shutting down the largest and last working incinerator in Sydney, Australia.
He said he took part in the Edmonton action
"because I believe that incineration is a deeply flawed process. The solution is recycling, pure and simple, recycling."
Mr Hewetson explained that during the action he had worked to cap the flue of the incinerator slowly and safely, and had told people at the plant exactly what he was doing and why. Asked whether he thought the action was a gesture or a token, Mr Hewetson said,
"It certainly wasn't a gesture. It certainly wasn't a token. It was a direct action. We stopped that chimney for 6 or 7 days."
During cross-examination, Christopher Ball QC asked Frank Hewetson what he thought of the Environment Agency standards for incinerator emissions.
He replied, "I'm afraid their standards don't cut much mustard with me" and repeated that he believed that municipal waste incineration was a flawed process.
Finally Janet Miller was called to the witness box by Owen Davies QC. A climber since childhood, and a supporter of Greenpeace for the last 15 years, Janet Miller has a BSc Hons in Chemical Engineering and Fuel Technology, and worked for ICI and Buxton Lime Industries until 1995, when she left to become an independent freight consultant.
His Honour Judge Mervyn Roberts intervened to ask Ms Miller why the Government was planning to expand the number of incinerators in this country to 165 from 13. Ms Miller told him that it was firstly because of the EU Landfill Directive which had reduction targets (possibly to encourage recycling although this had not been the interpretation in the UK), so waste was being burnt instead of landfilled. Secondly Ms Miller said that currently in the UK energy produced by incinerators was classed as a renewable source.
She told Owen Davies that the Environment Agency's emissions targets were "a measure of what's technically achievable in a process, but not too expensive" and explained that their concern was not what is right for human health or the environment.
Janet Miller described the Edmonton incinerator plant as she had experienced it:
"The gardens and everything outside were very nice. Inside, it was an absolute disgrace. It was the dirtiest and worst maintained plant I've ever seen in my life."
