Incineration campaign

There was an active campaign against plans by the council to let waste mismanagement company Onyx extend the polluting incinerator in Sheffield's city centre in order to burn yet more waste that could be reused or recycled. An excellent summary of the facts of incineration is available on indymedia here The coucil provides a handy summary of some of the arguments against the scheme here. The incinerator had previously been the target of a Greenpeace campaign as it was massively in breach of environmental regulations governing air pollution emissions. Here are some reports of the Greenpeace action: one, two. RABID is Residents against Bernard Road Incinerator Damage. They have a website here

Introduction to incinerators, from Greenpeace website
Fifteen municipal waste incinerators burn 2.5 million tonnes of waste every year in the UK.

They produce a cocktail of toxic chemicals that can cause cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems, immune system defect, increased allergies and birth defects.

So why is the UK government allowing scores of new sites across Britain? Do you live near one?

The Government seems set on the massive expansion of incinerators across Britain. They've awarded over 60 contracts to subsidise new incinerators, one of the contracts is to make Britains biggest incinerator (Edmonton, north London) even bigger. Greenpeace thinks it should be shut down along with the 14 other municipal waste incinerators in Britain.

However you do it, burning rubbish produces a toxic cocktail of chemicals that are linked with cancer, asthma and birth defects. Acid gases, arsenic, lead, dioxins and particulates spew out of large incinerators chimneys at the rate of 80 wheelie bins per second. The thousands of tonnes of toxic ash are sent to landfill or spread over the country as aggregate for roads or buildings.

Burning resources does not provide the answer to our waste crisis. The solution is the intensive reuse, recyling and stabilisation of waste.

How to comply with the landfill directive without incineration
How to comply with the landfill directive without incineration: A Greenpeace Blueprint (pdf, 32 pages, published 2001)

Summary of How to comply...

The Environmental Trust: Cool Waste Management
The Environmental Trust: Cool Waste Management: Greenpeace: a State-of-the-Art Alternative to Incineration for Residual Municipal Waste- MBT

Summary of The Environmental Trust...

Greenpeace submission to the PIU review of the Governments waste strategy
[http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/5132.pdf Greenpeace submission to the PIU review of the Governments waste strategy Submission to the Governments Strategy Unit review of UK waste policy]

Summary of submission to the PIU

Dangerous Dioxins: the facts
Dangerous Dioxins: the facts

Summary of Dangerous Dioxins

Initial research area
Something from the Guardian that may bode well - a UN pact has banned a whole stack of Dioxins -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4925389-103681,00.html

I wonder if this affects incinerators?