- Incineration of waste has been rising in the UK over the past few years
- Landfill taxes and a Chinese ban on waste imports are exacerbating the problem
- Critics say it's hampering recycling
The UK faces a wave of protests as the number of incinerators used to burn rubbish is set to more than double within a decade.
The 44 waste incinerators across the UK burned 10.9 million tonnes of rubbish last year, much of it in England, where it accounted for 42 per cent of rubbish disposal.
Incineration will soon account for more than half of all waste disposal, data shows.
Sixteen new incinerators are under construction, which will increase burning capacity by more than a third. A further 45 incinerators have been approved but haven’t started building and 40 more are at planning stages.
Figures ‘extremely concerning’
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: “These figures are extremely concerning. Burning our rubbish marks a failure of policy and imagination on the part of the Government and local councils.”
Critics say the rise is alarming because incineration plants cause air pollution, harming health, and increases carbon dioxide emissions which exacerbate climate change. Incinerators could also reduce recycling by encouraging councils to burn more waste, they say.
This threat is acute since China, where most British waste was typically sent, has banned imports of plastic, paper and card – and Brexit may shut off a further major waste destination.
Investigation into recyclable waste being wrongly incinerated
Brighton and Hove Council has launched an investigation into waste incineration after a binman claimed tonnes of rubbish meant for recycling had been burnt after Christmas.
Ken Quantick said he was collecting eight tonnes of recycling a day which was wrongly being incinerated, as the site operator Veolia became swamped by a huge volume waste after Christmas.
‘I’m so disgusted by it’
“We work one of nine routes and suddenly they started telling my team of three workers to start dumping our recycling in general household waste which is destined to be incinerated.
“I questioned them and they said our loads was listed as contaminated but I’ve been working 14 years and this has never happened before,” Mr Quantick said.
“Residents think their rubbish is being recycled but it isn’t. People are carefully picking out paper, plastic and tins only for the recycling firm to burn it. It’s a public scandal and I’m so disgusted by it that I can’t stand by and stay silent any longer, he said.
A council spokesman said: “We know there is an issue concerning contamination at the Veolia site. We have launched an investigation and are speaking to Veolia and our own staff about the situation.”
“However, claims that Veolia is burning recycling because the plant is overwhelmed are completely untrue,” he added.
A spokesman for Veolia said: “Loads might be rejected if it is deemed to contain too high levels of contamination. This is to protect the quality of our end recycled product and ensure the best environmental performance.”
42% of waste burned
Incinerators burn huge amounts of the UK’s rubbish. Last year, 42 per cent of the country’s plastic, paper, cardboard and other waste was burned – generating heat and electricity in the process.
Their growth has been phenomenal. In 2006, most waste was sent to landfill, with 3.3 million tonnes – or just over 10 per cent of UK waste – being incinerated.
A decade or so later, taxes that were introduced on landfill as available land shrunk have made burning the much cheaper option, leading to the number of incinerators more than doubling, to 44, since 2010. The plans mean that 100 more have been proposed.
China no longer taking waste
Traditionally, the UK has sent about two thirds of its waste to be recycled in China, which has now banned imports. Much of this had been diverted to Malaysia, which is now introducing its own ban. And another major source of our waste – Europe – may also be blocked after Brexit.
All this waste has to go somewhere – and the UK’s recycling infrastructure is already stretched – so it seems likely that much of the rubbish that went overseas will now be burned. The government has held out the prospect of an ‘incineration tax’, which could curb some of that demand.
As well as exports, some 12.5 per cent of waste currently goes to landfill, and much of that is likely to be diverted to incinerators as well in the coming years. But while incineration causes air pollution and exacerbates climate change, that doesn’t mean continuing with landfill is a good option. It takes up valuable land and can leak methane if not properly sealed – though the waste can potentially be dug up and reused at a later date.
How polluting incinerators actually are
There are also questions over just how polluting incinerators are. A study for Public Health England by researchers at Imperial College London and King’s College London did find evidence of ‘particulate’ pollution around the incinerators but said concentrations were “very low”.
However, the research didn’t look at even smaller particulates – or the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels such as plastic (made from oil).
Another study, involving an analysis of official data by the campaign group the UK Without Incineration Network found that the country’s incinerators collectively produce the same amount of ‘particulate’ air pollution over the course of a year as 250,000 working lorries.
Incinerators produce only 0.03 per cent of PM10 particulates and 0.05 per cent of PM2.5 particulates. This compares to 5.35 per cent/4.96 per cent from traffic and 22.4 per cent/34.3 per cent from wood fires and stoves in people’s houses.
Meanwhile, incinerators produce 1.12 per cent of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide – higher than the 0.57 per cent from domestic wood and stove burning, but well below the 33.5 per cent from traffic.
‘Was that the best you could come up with?’
Oxford University’s Professor Peter Edwards, said: “The increase can only ever be justified as a temporary solution otherwise future generations will say ‘Was that the best you could come up with to solve such a massive problem?’”
Friends of the Earth campaigner Julian Kirby added: “Incinerators hamper efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle by forcing councils to supply rubbish.”
Shlomo Dowen, of the campaign group UK Without Incineration Network, said: “There is no excuse for building new incinerators. They are harming recycling and costing the public hundreds of millions of pounds that could be better spent.”
Proponents say it generates heat and energy
The Environmental Services Association, which represents waste companies, refutes the criticism because the burning is used to generate heat and electricity, known as Energy from Waste.
“The current main alternative is landfill, but Energy from Waste generates electricity and heat…[and] is one of the most tightly regulated industries in the power sector,” a spokeswoman said.
Public Health England found no evidence of adverse health impacts associated with living near incinerators, she said.
Opponents criticised the study, saying it didn’t measure for smaller, more damaging, particles.
A government spokesman said: “Waste incineration is the best management option for waste that cannot be prevented, reused or recycled. It plays an important role in landfill diversion, reducing its environmental impact. Our strategy commits to increasing the efficiency of energy for waste plants.”