The incineration of waste is a subject of considerable public concern. In the absence of effective controls, harmful pollutants may be emitted to air, land and water where they may contribute to human health and environmental impacts, acidification and damage to the environment on a local and regional level. It is widely recognised that whilst incineration of waste - preferably with heat recovery - can form an important part of an integrated waste management system, strict controls are required to prevent adverse environmental impacts.
On the 13th April 1999 the Environment Agency wrote with regard to the persistent hydrogen chloride breaches and asked why the plant's authorisation should not be amended to exclude PVC (which London Waste had identified as the cause of many HCl breaches). The reply was not on the public register when Greenpeace viewed it.
In December 2000 London Waste Ltd. commissioned REC Ltd. to monitor some of the pollutants emitted from its stack. They found that emissions of oxides of nitrogen from the chimney were above the authorised limit for 25 of the 26 hours monitored.
