Burning household rubbish in giant incinerators to make electricity is now the dirtiest way the UK generates power, a BBC investigation has found.
It has led to demands for an urgent rethink on the controversial Westbury incinerator which was given planning permission last year following a public inquiry.
The BBC report found that incinerators are emitting harmful greenhouse gases at much higher levels than government predictions and are more polluting than coal. It also revealed that incinerators frequently breach environmental permits, often exceeding safe limits for harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. Additionally, the report highlighted how the rise in waste incineration has coincided with a decline in recycling, with waste now being transported over long distances to be burnt.
Following the report, Westbury Town Council said it will be writing to the Government asking for an immediate moratorium on all new building and a commitment to end the use of incineration as a means of waste management.
According to the report, nearly half of the UK’s household waste is now incinerated, a practice that scientists warn is a “disaster for the climate.” Some experts are even calling for a ban on new incinerators. The study also found that waste incineration produces the same level of greenhouse gases per unit of energy as coal power and that “energy from waste is five times more polluting than the average UK electricity unit,” making it the “dirtiest” method of energy production in the country.
Chair of Westbury Town Council’s Incinerator Monitoring Group, Mark Bailey, said, “I have already written to the Secretary of State, on behalf of the council, requesting an immediate stop to the building of all future incineration plants, and in the light of the BBC’s report and the evidence presented, we will be writing again to both Mary Creagh, Minister with responsibility for incineration policy and Ed Milliband as Secretary of State for Energy Policy and Net Zero to ask for an immediate moratorium on all new building and a commitment from the Government to end the use of incineration as a means of waste management.
“Sadly, nothing in the BBC report comes as a surprise. The Town Council opposed the Incinerator plans at every stage on the grounds that it is not a “green energy” and produces large amounts of pollution, and this seems to be confirmed here where pollution is shown to be on a par with that from burning coal. In fact, the report is almost a summary of the arguments in the fight against the incinerator that the Town Council put to the Planning Inquiry.”
The BBC’s research, conducted by its Climate and Science Team in collaboration with the Shared Data Unit, paints a concerning picture of the growing reliance on waste incineration across the UK.
The study found that incinerators are emitting harmful greenhouse gases at significantly higher levels than previously predicted by the government. According to the report, emissions from England’s 52 major incinerators have surged by 40.4% in the past five years – far exceeding initial projections.
The BBC report reveals that while many councils have moved away from landfill in recent years, incineration is not the green alternative it was once thought to be. Instead, millions of tonnes of household waste are now being incinerated, contributing heavily to rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The BBC report also highlights that many incinerators routinely breach their environmental permits, with some exceeding safe limits for harmful gases like carbon monoxide. One of the worst offenders, the Allerton incinerator, breached its permit 74 times last year. Waste being transported large distances to incinerators was also an issue that was highlighted.
Cllr Mark Bailey added, “At the Inquiry we argued that incinerators take away the incentive to recycle, and again that has proven to be true as recycling levels are declining and waste sent to be burned is increasing.
“We know that the business model for the Westbury Incinerator showed that waste would be brought in from a 100-mile radius or more, thus increasing road pollution and congestion, both of which are a concern to the residents of Westbury.
“The statistics relating to breaches of Environmental Permits are quite shocking, especially as the Westbury incinerator will be built very close to residential properties. Sadly we know how ineffective the Environment Agency appears to be with the issues of odour from the existing waste treatment site giving rise to the infamous ‘Westbury Stink’. The Town Council has already invested in air monitoring equipment so that we can get our own independent records of any pollution or excess emissions from the site, but this will be small comfort to those living downwind of the incinerator.
“It is depressing that so much of what the Town Council predicted, concerns that were dismissed at the Planning Inquiry, is proving to be correct based on the evidence of other incinerators and this BBC report, and we will continue to oppose the building of this facility on behalf of the town.”
Westbury Mayor Jane Russ said, “There is almost nothing in this report that wasn’t quoted by the council and the many people opposing the incinerator at the inquiry. Let us hope that there will be some useful momentum now to get the building of this monstrosity stopped.”
The Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) incinerator in Westbury was given planning permission by a government-appointed planning inspector last year despite strong opposition from local groups, Westbury Town Council and 17 other local councils who had warned of the potential damage to the environment and public health. Wiltshire Council had initially rejected the planning application, but the decision was overturned following a public inquiry, and the Environment Agency later issued an operating permit for the plant.
Now, following the BBC report, there are growing demands to look again at incineration as a way to deal with UK waste, giving fresh hope to Westbury campaigners.
“The current practice of the burning of waste for energy and building more and more incinerators for this purpose is at odds with our desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr Ian Williams, professor of applied environmental science at the University of Southampton, told the BBC.
“Increasing its use is disastrous for our climate.”
Prof Keith Bell, who sits on the UK Climate Change Committee, said after reviewing the BBC’s findings, “If the current government is serious about clean power by 2030 then… we cannot allow ourselves to be locked into just burning waste.”
The BBC report said, “In the past few years, Wales and Scotland have introduced bans on new incinerator plants over environmental concerns, and there have been increasing calls from leading academics and environmental groups for the same to happen in England and Northern Ireland.
“These include the UK Climate Change Committee, which has recommended that no more plants be built without efforts to capture all their carbon emissions.
“Without action, it is expected that the use of incinerators in the UK will continue to grow and they will probably get more polluting.
“There are currently dozens of new plants going through the planning process, and existing ones are growing in capacity. The BBC investigation found nearly half of all incinerators in the UK have managed to get a capacity increase approved by the Environment Agency without applying for a new permit – which requires public consultation.
“The waste they are burning is increasingly made up of plastic, according to local government data. Because plastic is produced from fossil fuels, it is the dirtiest type of waste to burn.
“According to the government’s own statistics, burning plastic produces 175 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) than burying it in landfill.”
