No Incinerator 4 Horsham Community Group continues to campaign, keep up to date with the latest relevant local, UK and worldwide news and raise community concerns. Some representatives of the Community Group recently attended an interesting and helpful meeting with our MP, Jeremy Quin, who later said:
“Great to catch up with the No Incinerator 4 Horsham – Community Group. For years the group have worked hard to challenge the proposals and raise community concerns.
I am continuing to act on these concerns and given progress being made on recycling the case against the need for new incinerator capacity is getting ever stronger.”
The Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP
This latest news includes:
- Community Liaison Group news
- Defra’s Response to Climate Change Committee Recommendation
- Incineration Overcapacity Briefing
- Waste Infrastructure Technology Mix
- Incinerators & Health: Fact or Fiction?
- Complaint Regarding Handling of Municipal Waste Incinerator Permit Applications
- 10-Point Action Plan to Phase Out Waste Incinerators
- Plans to burn 50,000 more tonnes of waste per year in the Horsham incinerator.
- Please help our campaign – sign petition, write to your MP, waste less and recycle more
Community Liaison Group (CLG)
- At the CLG meeting on 6th December, Qair said there was very little news, Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) are working on the design detail, the construction contract has been delayed, construction is expected to start towards the end of the first quarter of 2024.
- Another long discussion about the need for Qair to keep local residents informed through newsletters and other publicity, although Qair do not wish to start this until construction starts.
- Health concerns were raised, monitoring of dioxins and other pollutants.
- Some CLG members visited a HZI incinerator construction site in Slough, they commented that the site appeared to be well run and well organised.
- Reassurance was sought following an incident at the Viridor incinerator in Beddington impacted by a power cut and still under investigation. The Horsham incinerator’s emergency generator would manage a plant shutdown, whilst waiting for the mains power to come back on.
- The dangers of fires produced by batteries in waste was discussed, please recycle batteries at shops that sell batteries, recycling centres or in a small clear bag on top of your green or blue top bin on collection day:
https://www.horsham.gov.uk/waste-recycling-and-bins/recycling/batteries-recycling
Climate Change Committee (CCC)
Following CCC Recommendation R2022-311, Defra plans to publish analyses by the end of this year, to provide clarity to investors as to where there is forecast to be over or under provision of waste infrastructure, in response to the Collection and Packaging Reforms.
Incineration Overcapacity Briefing
The latest community concerns include Incineration Overcapacity – more incineration capacity than genuinely residual waste. This raises serious concerns about the many proposals to build yet more incinerators, including the proposed Horsham incinerator, construction of which has not started.
Meeting England’s current residual waste targets would reduce potential feedstock for incinerators to around 16.4 million tonnes in 2027, falling to around 11.7 million by 2042.
With 19 million tonnes of incineration capacity currently operational or under construction across England, incineration capacity can be expected to exceed available feedstock by 2.6 million tonnes in 2027, with incineration overcapacity in England growing to 7.4 million tonnes by 2042, even if no additional incinerators are built.
Waste Infrastructure Technology Mix Report
The National Infrastructure Commission commissioned external consultants Ricardo to complete analysis and modelling on waste arisings and waste treatment methods in England, capacity and waste infrastructure required now and in a range of scenarios out to 2055. This report was published in October 2023.
https://nic.org.uk/app/uploads/Waste-Infrastructure-Technology-Mix-Report-Ricardo.pdf
Incinerators & Health: Fact or Fiction?
- This November 2023 Health Briefing raises concerns about how incinerators are regulated, explores how statements made by the Environment Agency (EA), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and others to justify permitting waste incinerators are undermined by information revealed through information requests.
- Key decisions about environmental permitting for waste incinerators have been made based on outdated evidence, inconclusive evidence, and in some cases no evidence at all.
- UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) Health Briefing and press release: https://ukwin.org.uk/health/
- UKWIN wrote an article for Air Quality News, about why they felt compelled to produce an incinerator health briefing as part of their campaign to stop incinerators and protect air quality.
Complaint Regarding Handling of Municipal Waste Incinerator Permit Applications
Carlisle Residents Against Incinerator (CRAIN) has sent a complaint to the UK’s Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) over the permitting process for a Carlisle-based energy-from-waste plant. The complaint is now “under assessment” by the OEP who will determine if there is an indication of a failure to comply with environmental law by a public authority. OEP reference CMS-486.
David Mudge, CRAIN Spokesperson said: “The EA must be held to account. The harm to human health and the environment is far too serious to ignore. The more we examine the EA’s regulation of waste incinerators, the more we find.”
Ni4H has written to the OEP in support of CRAIN’s complaint as we experienced many of the same issues with the permitting process for the Horsham incinerator.
10-Point Action Plan
Representatives of Ni4H joined the Big One Protest in London and delivered this 10-point action plan to phase out waste incineration and accelerate the transition to zero waste to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
https://ukwin.org.uk/files/pdf/UKWIN-XRZW-10-point-action-plan-April-2023.pdf
Plans to Burn More Waste
Planning & Environment Agency permit permissions were given for a Recycling, Recovery and Renewable Energy Facility (3Rs), with 180,000 tonnes burnt and 50,000 tonnes recycled.
The new owners, Qair, have announced that the recycling will be done elsewhere, and they now plan to burn 230,000 tonnes per annum in the proposed Horsham incinerator.
West Sussex County Council have sought external legal advice but have only shared a summary of the key conclusions of that advice. Local residents sent a Freedom of Information Request and Ni4H is now seeking legal advice.
PLEASE HELP OUR CAMPAIGN
Sign this petition to The UK Government
“Fix the UK’s plastic waste crisis: reduce single use plastic by 50% by 2025, ban all waste exports, ban new incinerators being built, and roll out a deposit return scheme.”
https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/plastic-waste-crisis
Write to your MP
Ask for a Moratorium on incineration while the concerns about overcapacity, incineration and health and the EA‘s regulation of waste incinerators are reviewed.
Horsham MP, Jeremy Quin, email: jeremy.quin.mp@parliament.uk
Waste less and recycle more
Drop off your single use plastics for recycling:
- Email: noincinerator4horsham@gmail.com
- Facebook: No Incinerator 4 Horsham Community Group
- Twitter: @4Horsham