15th November 2005

183 tonnes of toxic ash will be bound for Wingmoor every day if plans for a mixed waste incinerator in Newhaven go ahead. Greens are campaigning in both Gloucestershire and Sussex to dump that waste plan in its entirety and instead adopt a plan to cut the volume of waste generated (i).

Brighton and Hove City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee have approved plans for an incinerator despite huge environmental and health risks associated with incineration, over 90,000 objections to the plan, and a planning inspectorate recommendation that the plan be revisited. The full city council will now vote on 24th November.

Philip Booth, a Gloucestershire Green party spokesperson said: "If this incinerator goes ahead Wingmoor is the nearest and most likely site to take the toxic waste ash - and that will mean 183 tonnes of the stuff coming to Gloucestershire every day! Glos Greens have written supporting the huge numbers of campaigners in Newhaven trying to stop this incinerator going ahead (ii). Apart from the problems we will have with the extra lorries and landfilling toxic ash in Gloucestershire, it has been shown that incinerators pollute nearby residential areas with a cocktail of toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems, immune system defect, increased allergies and birth defects (iii).”

Philip Booth added: "Worse still approving this incinerator will tie the councils there into a long-term contract to burn waste - rather than improve recycling rates. Indeed if they recycled their organic waste there would be no need for this incinerator. Greens are fundamentally opposed to the principal of burning - rather than recycling, reusing and reducing - our waste. There is no need to incinerate waste at all if we improve recycling rates and cut waste by adopting the principles of a ‘zero-waste strategy’, such as that employed successfully in Canada, parts of Australia and recently here by Woking Borough Council."

Philip Booth added: "This is another example of our failed waste policies which puts us bottom of recycling in Europe. We send our recycling to China, Bristol already sends their waste to us to landfill (See picture right) and now we hear Sussex hope to send their toxic waste here. The Government's waste policies are a shambles."

Barbara Farmer, SWARD (Safety in Waste and Rubbish Disposal at Bishop's Cleeve)'s External Liaison Co-ordinator said (iv): "SWARD also has concerns about Wingmoor being the likely destination for ash from new incinerators. "


Additional statements:

DOVE (Defenders of the Ouse Valley)is the community campaigning group leading local opposition to the incinerator. DOVE chair Professor Chris Chatwin said: “Surely it can’t be right that public servants can use the public’s money to force us to have something that is going to damage the environment, our health and that of future generations. Thousands of us don’t want it and the councils need to take heed of this fact (v).”

Dr Caroline Lucas , a Green MEP who is a member of the European Parliament’s influential Environment Committee, said: “Plans to build an incinerator would have a devastating impact on the local community and unique South Downs coastal environment and the proposal should be thrown out with the rest of the councils’ rubbish.” She has met campaigners on several occasions and will be discussing with the EU if there is a way they can intervene to prevent the incinerator ever being built if councillors reject her call to ditch the plan on 24th November.

Dr.C.Eberlein, Sussex University said: “They’ve gone from an unthinking policy of burying it, to an unthinking policy of burning it.”

Peter Jones, the Director of Biffa Waste Services says: “It is entirely possible to achieve the Landfill Directive without using incineration."


Notes to editors:

(i) See link: http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=506&Itemid=2

(ii) Key campaign groups include DOVE (www.dove2000.org), Brighton and Hove, Lewes and Eastbourne Green Parties, Friends of the Earth and Dump the Dump. For Glos Green party letter to DOVE and Sussex Express see (vi) below.

(iii) Waste incinerators operate at extreme temperatures, vaporising some of the hazardous heavy metals - such as mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and tin - found in household waste. The heat also produces dioxins, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide in large quantities, researchers have found. Dioxins have been described as the most toxic substances known to science and have been used in pesticides and chemical weapons.

US Army chemical warfare researcher Dr Friedrich Hoffman told the army “dioxin was too deadly to be used for chemical warfare purposes”. According to those who operate them modern incinerators put out very little pollution. But they are self regulated and independent monitoring only occurs twice a year - and even then they are given notice as to when it will be. A Belgian study has shown that dioxin levels, if continuously monitored, may be 30-50 times higher than the figure that emerges from this monitoring.

(iv) SWARD website is at: http://www.swardbishopscleeve.co.uk/

(v) DOVE statement:

There is growing public concern as to the close working relationship formed between Brighton & Hove & East Sussex County Council together with the waste Incinerator company ONYX. Over a year ago ESCC signed a 25yr contract with Onyx as the main contractor for the disposal of waste throughout the County of Sussex. To date Onyx have not submitted a planning application to seek permission to build an incinerator at Newhaven. The wheels are in motion for the Council Officers to seek support from the Brighton & Hove & East Sussex County Council to adopt (in principle) the Waste Local Plan. Should this be successful then Onyx will submit a planning application to build an Incinerator on the North Quay of Newhaven. It will be East Sussex County Council who will make the decision as to whether Onyx is granted permission to build. Brighton & Hove & East Sussex County Council have put aside a very large amount of (Council tax payers) money to work with Onyx to fight any legal challenge that may be taken  to seek legal redress against Onyx building an Incinerator.

The Council boasts of having Anti discrimination and Best Practice policies in place for their staff to abide by, yet their own Senior Officers appear to manipulate the system to enable them to reach there target of Incineration at all cost. This is sort of behaviour you might expect in a ‘totalitarian state’ but not in what is supposed to be an open and transparent democratic society. DOVE will continue the Anti- Incinerator campaign, we value the continued support by members and the local community. We will never stop until the Local Authority withdraws their plan for incineration.  

(vi) The Gloucestershire Green party have sent a letter of support to DOVE and the following letter to the Sussex Express:

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are appalled to read about the recent decision to approve plans for the incinerator at Newhaven. This is short sighted, irresponsible and indeed dangerous behaviour. We write in the hope that plans will be voted out on 24th November.

If this incinerator goes ahead Wingmoor near Cheltenham is the nearest and most likely site to take your toxic waste ash - and it will mean 183 tonnes of the stuff coming to Gloucestershire every day! But in addition to the health and environmental concerns about those lorries and landfilling the toxic ash, there are also studies that have shown incinerators pollute nearby residential areas with a cocktail of toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems, immune system defect, increased allergies and birth defects

Worse still approving this incinerator will tie councils into a long-term contract to burn waste rather than improve recycling rates. Greens are fundamentally opposed to burning rather than recycling, reusing and reducing our waste. There is just no need to incinerate waste at all if we improve recycling rates and cut waste by adopting the principles of a ‘zero-waste strategy’, such as that employed successfully in Canada, parts of Australia and recently here by Woking Borough Council.

This is another example of our failed waste policies which puts us bottom of recycling in Europe. We wish DOVE, FoE and your local Green parties every success in stopping this incinerator and urge councillors to please adopt instead a plan to cut the volume of waste generated.

Philip Booth, Press Officer, Gloucestershire Green Party.