Councillors in Cornwall have rejected an unacceptable proposal to scrap a planned 117 million energy from waste incinerator near St. Dennis in favour of alternative forms of waste disposal.
At a meeting of the councils Waste Development Advisory Panel (WDAP) on Monday (January 14), councillors noted a report setting out the proposal but concluded that it did not represent a credible alternative plan for waste management in Cornwall.
The news has upset campaigners against the PFI-funded Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre, set to be built by SITA UK, who said they were disappointed with the conclusions of the panel.
The report, by independent consultants Eunomia, was commissioned by anti-incinerator campaigners Cornwall Waste Forum (CWF) and claimed that the council could save up to 320 million if it scrapped plans to build the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre and instead increased recycling rates (see letsrecycle.com story).
Published in November 2012, the Eunomia report had described the PFI contract for the incinerator as expensive and outdated and not fit for purpose.
However, adocument prepared ahead of Mondays meeting by Nigel Blackler, head of transportation, waste and environment at the council, concluded that it would not possible for the council to cancel plans because the procurement undertaken for the Integrated Waste Management Contract signed by the former County Council does not allow Cornwall Council to move to an alternative technological approach.
The document also notes that the council, like other local authorities, faces severe constraints on its budget and must look closely at the value for money it achieves in all of the services it delivers, but that it has the potential to deliver major savings.
The council document said: The Eunomia proposal demonstrates an unacceptable reliance on landfill, a failure to accord with the waste hierarchy, a reliance on overly optimistic financial predictions regarding recyclate income and fails to adequately address the risks from future land tax increases. Additionally, it is considered that the timescales for delivery and the risks of challenge to an alternative strategy permissions for alternative facilities are unrealistic. Therefore, the Eunomia proposals do not represent a credible alternative plan for waste management in Cornwall.
Cornwall Waste Forum
However, chair of the CWF St. Dennis branch, Ken Rickard, criticised the council for not inviting representatives from Eunomia to attend Mondays meeting, as he said it resulted in an unbalanced discussion of requested clarifications of questions arising from the last meeting.
He added that they did not once mention all the risks involved in the incinerator project or the potential of saving Cornwall’s taxpayers 320m.
Commenting on the conclusions of the panel, he said: We are rather disappointed that the council officer (Mr Blackler) sees no flexibility in the contract with SITA, as the council previously had the option of cancelling it for some time. Even if the council is not able to cancel the contract by force majeure now, we have always maintained that there is room for negotiation if need be.
Discussing possible future campaigning, Mr Rickard said: The Forum is still engaged in considerable legal and investigative work which continues on a confidential basis. The outcome of which will be announced in due course.
The St. Dennis plant is being developed under a 30-year waste PFI contract between SITA UK and Cornwall council, signed in 2006 (see letsrecycle.com story). The council had considered scrapping the contract, but it estimated that the cost of pursuing an alternative option could have been in excess of 200 million.
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