Commenting on the publication today, by the National Society for Clean Air (NSCA), of a report on the health impacts of incineration, Greenpeace Incineration Campaigner Blake Lee-Harwood said:
Greenpeace welcomes jury's verdict and calls on Government to end waste incineration in UK
Five Greenpeace volunteers were today acquitted of charges of criminal damage by a jury at Wood Green Crown Court, London. The charges relate to the occupation of Edmonton incinerator in October last year when the five volunteers closed the plant for four days by camping on top of the chimney.
The jury at Wood Green Crown Court were sent out today (1pm, Tuesday 12th) to consider their verdict in the trial of five Greenpeace volunteers charged with criminal damage over the shutdown of Britain's biggest waste incinerator.
The charges relate to the occupation of Edmonton incinerator in October last year when the five volunteers closed the plant for four days by camping on top of the chimney. The defendants had argued that their occupation of the plant was lawful because the incinerator was breaking pollution laws and discharging hundreds of tonnes of toxic chemicals, which threatened people, property and the environment.
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 recent European Landfill Directive will force the UK to reduce the amount of organic waste it disposes of in landfill sites. This is causing panic among waste disposal authorities, which have failed for years to address the question of what to do sustainably with our household waste. Local authorities in the UK are now stampeding towards huge incineration plants, capable of burning 200,000 tonnes or more of rubbish per annum, to meet the EU targets.
