Landfill taxes push councils to incinerators

More than 30 waste incinerators are set to be built around the country as councils seek to avoid substantial hikes in landfill taxes, it has been claimed.

By Rosa Prince, Political CorrespondentLast Updated: 11:51PM BST 21 Jul 2008

Under European Union rules, landfill charges are set to rise from £32 to £48 a tonne by 2010, and local authorities have struggled to increase recycling rates to levels which would substantially reduce the rubbish mountain.
Many are now said to be considering incineration as a means of replacing expensive and environmentally damaging landfill sights.
According to Channel 4 News, 30 sites have been selected already, as councils spend Government-allotted waste management funds on long-term contracts with multinational waste companies.
Based on information from local campaign groups, the Environment Agency, and the Chartered Institute of Waste Management a list has been drawn up showing that incinerators are planned across the UK, from St Dennis, Cornwall to Elgin in Morayshire, Scotland.
Other sites in England are said to include Capel, near Dorking, Surrey, Newhaven in East Sussex, a site near Beaconsfield, in Buckinghamshire and Peterborough.
Also on the list are Sterwartby, in Bedfordshire, Rainworth in Nottinghamshire, Exeter, Plymouth and Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as well as Belvedere in Bexley, south east London.
In Wales, an incinerator is reported to be earmarked for Cardiff, while a total of four plants are set for Scotland, including Dumfries, Dunbar and Perth.
At present, there are 23 existing incinerators in the UK, meaning there are likely to be more than 50 by the next decade.
At least 12 of the 30 are said to be already under construction or in the planning or procurement stage. A decade ago, there were only 15 incinerators in the whole of the country.
Environmental campaigners have complained that incinerators cause pollution and pose a potential health hazard, while residents groups have raised concerns that changes to the planning laws will result in objections to proposed incinerators being ignored.
England and Wales produce about 435 million tonnes of waste a year, of which just 20 per cent is sent for recycling - one of the lowest rates in Europe.
A spokesman for the Department for the Environment said she did not "recognise" the 30 figure, but added that the siting of incinerators was a matter for local councils as long as the environmental impact of new plants was taken into consideration.
She added: "We do not believe that incineration should be given priority over recycling and composting."