Westbury has a long and noble tradition of campaigning for air quality. Remember the now leveled cement work chimney with its burning tyres? For years now I have campaigned against Hills’ Waste’s attempt to build an incinerator in Westbury, working with local residents, councillors and UK Without Incinerators (UKWIN). Incinerators, or ‘energy from wate’ (EfW) facilities are not just a problem in Westbury but across England. Here’s where I stand on this national issue:
I’m opposed to the construction of more incinerators because …
- they produce around 6 to 7 million tonnes of carbon per annum in the UK
- they disincentivise recycling by attracting a constant feedstock of waste
- they produce harmful dioxins as far as 10 miles away
- England is on track to build excess incineration capacity, harming our official 2042 recycling target
I’m calling on the government to:
- Introduce a moratorium on the building of new incinerators
- Introduced an incineration tax similar to the landfill tax
- Include incineration in the emissions transfer scheme (ETS), which would make them pay for their carbon emissions, earlier than 2028 as currently planned
