London MEP Jean Lambert has labelled the 25 million plant “just another excuse for incineration”.
– Jean Lambert MEP
But the project has been defended by both Novera and waste management firm Shanks, which is hoping to provide up to 90,000 tonnes of solid recovered fuel (SRF) for the facility annually. The companies have said the plant will replace fossil fuels in the generation of electricity.
Proposed for a site at the Fairfield Industrial Park in Rainham, the gasification plant would use (SRF) made from household waste to generate power. This SRF would be produced by the Shanks mechanical biological treatment plant at Frog Island, using waste collected from households in East London.
The Green Party's MEP for London, Jean Lambert, has submitted a formal complaint to Havering council concerning the project.
Materials
Ms Lambert said the fuel for the gasification plant will largely be made up of materials which could be recycled – including paper, textiles, wood and plastic. She said the plant would need a constant supply of the paper- and plastic-rich SRF in order to work efficiently.
The MEP said: “Given the facility's feedstock requirements, we are in danger of redirecting recyclable materials away from recycling.
“London has made significant progress increasing levels of recycling and is now on the way to meeting recycling targets. We simply cannot undermine this with a gasification plant that is just another excuse for incineration,” Ms Lambert added.
Although she accepted that the proposed facility is not a “mass burn” incinerator, she said it did come under Europe's definition of an incinerator since it would heat waste to about 800 degrees centigrade to create a fuel gas.
Novera
Responding to the objections, Novera Energy was adamant that the gasification plant would create a “sustainable waste solution” for the capital.
It said the advanced thermal treatment of household waste would power 10,000 homes a year and was supported by the London waste strategy.
Commenting on the project, Novera spokesman John Howson told letsrecycle.com: “In this facility we can use material left after kerbside recycling and treatment by MBT to generate electricity and reduce landfill. We think this is making great strides towards a truly sustainable way of dealing with household waste in London.”
Shanks
Shanks is hoping the gasification plant will provided an outlet for waste treated as part of its long-term contract with the East London Waste Authority. Ian Goodfellow, managing director of Shanks, defended the use of SRF by highlighting the replacement of fossil fuels in the generation of electricity.
Mr Goodfellow said: “Should the Novera plant gain planning permission, the utilisation of SRF in an advanced thermal technology will reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and contribute positively to the carbon reduction agenda.”
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“SRF is produced from residual waste treatment following recycling and composting materials that would previously have gone to landfill,” he added.
The planning application for the Rainham gasification plant is expected to come before Havering council later this month. It will also be considered by the London Gateway Development Corporation, the government agency responsible for development on the East London riverside. A decision is expected by the end of the year.
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