Wiltshire Council has been accused of misleading the public about its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, with a councillor highlighting waste incineration emissions as a major, unaddressed issue.
The council’s latest newsletter, under a section titled ‘Climate Update,’ emphasises progress toward carbon neutrality. It claims, “The council is on track to meet this goal in relation to its direct emissions and there is a wide range of work being undertaken to tackle its indirect emissions and help the county as a whole become carbon neutral.”
However, Liberal Democrat councillor Richard Budden has criticised the administration, stating that waste incineration emissions are the ‘elephant in the room.’ He argues that incinerating nearly 114,000 tonnes of household rubbish annually generates substantial greenhouse gases, undermining the council’s climate pledges.
“To say the council is on track for carbon neutrality by 2030, while its waste-burning contracts run into the 2030s, is either naïve, disingenuous, or deliberately misleading,” said Cllr Budden. “Burning waste is now the UK’s dirtiest form of power generation, surpassing even coal.”
Wiltshire Council currently sends approximately 60,000 tonnes of waste each year to the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre in Westbury, which is then burned in Europe under a contract running until 2038. An additional 50,000 tonnes are incinerated at the Lakeside Energy from Waste facility in Slough, under contract until 2033. The Lakeside plant alone reports 1.05 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of waste incinerated.
Cllr Budden claims that these emissions eclipse those from all other council operations and urges the Conservative administration to address this in council meetings. “At a recent council meeting, I told Councillor Muns this is the elephant in the room: ignoring it won’t make it go away. I’ve also challenged him to report to the Environment Select Committee on how these emissions will be eliminated,” he said.
He added, “When the Lib Dems take control of the council, we will be honest and open with the people of Wiltshire about the challenges we face in eliminating these greenhouse gas emissions.”
Wiltshire Council was approached for comment but no response was received due to their ongoing censorship of the White Horse News.
Pictured: Wiltshire’s waste volume, 2024-25 forecast
