The call has come in response to Energy Developments, a renewable energy company, announcing its withdrawal of development funding for the Australian pilot SWERF in Wollongong (see letsrecycle.com story). The technology is owned by Brightstar Environmental, which Energy Developments own an 88% stake in but is looking for another partner.
The British division of Brightstar has contracts with Derby city council and Brett Waste Management, working for Kent county council. The company has been granted planning permission by Derby city council for a plant sited on Sinfin Lane, to take up to 220,000 tonnes of municipal waste per year.
A statement from Friends of the Earth and local campaigners Swerve the SWERF said: “We now call on Derby city council to rescind the planning permission for a SWERF incinerator on Sinfin Lane and pull out of the deal, or they will lose more money by becoming an unwilling ‘partner’ asked to provide monies for further experimentation on a plant which does not work.”
Derby's 100,000 households produce around 118,000 tonnes of waste a year, of which currently just over 12% (13,320 tonnes) is recycled. Derby city council has targets to reach 33% recycling rates by 2005-06.
Kerbside
The council hoped to fund a twin bin collection system through a 5 million bid for some of DEFRA's 140m recycling fund in 2002, but this bid only secured 114,000 for alterations to a recycling centre. A kerbside green waste collection service was launched in April 2003, but only in the Chellaston and Shelton Lock areas.
Derby Friends of the Earth and Swerve the SWERF suggested in their statement that instead of pursuing the SWERF technology Derby council should opt for in-vessel composting and recycling.
It said: “The alternatives to SWERF include intensive composting and recycling, which the Council has Govt targets for and which must be met. In-vessel composting and a recycling centre should now be set up on the land in Sinfin lane. We will be more than happy to provide the Council with advice and help with this.”
The campaigners added that the City of Derby Local Plan Review policy states that some of the 8.5 acre site should be given over to community use. They suggested that a recycling information centre should be built there to provide help and advice on recycling and composting.
Council
In response to the call to overturn Brightstar's planning permission, a spokesperson for the council said: “The planning permission was given last year and it lasts for five years. After five years it lapses and the company would have to apply again if they still wanted to build the plant. We do not withdraw planning permission as that would be a waste of time and taxpayers' money.”
Pat Ethelson, assistant director for highways, transportation and waste management at the council, said that the council is concentrating its efforts recycling. “As far as Derby is concerned, we basically want to hit our recycling targets,” he said, “We've just started a kerbside collection which is going really well and we plan to roll that out across the city. We also plan to set up a composting contract with the aim of hitting the targets.”
He added that for the residual waste the SWERF “remains an attractive option” because of the additional potential for materials recycling and energy recovery. Although the council has given planning permission, Brightstar still has to get the relevant pollution control permits to build the SWERF. “It all depends on them getting the necessary approval of the Environment Agency and Europe. The ball is in Brightstar's court but we are still very happy for them build the plant,” Mr Ethelson said.
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