Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested that all alternative treatment methods should be investigated before incinerating residual waste following a question put to him about waste treatment in the House of Commons.
We want to make sure that all the latest technology for alternatives to incineration is considered
Prime Minister David Cameron
Mr Cameron was responding to a question posed to him during Prime Minister's Questions earlier on Wednesday (June 30) from Nadine Dorries, member of parliament for Mid Bedfordshire, who asked about who should have control over planning decisions for large-scale waste incineration plants.
In her question, Ms Dorries cited American energy-from-waste firm Covanta Energy, which is attempting to develop a 210,000 tonnes-a-year capacity residual waste incineration facility at Rookery Pit in Bedfordshire.
The plant, which Ms Dorries described as “about the size of Wembley”, has been proposed at Rookery Pit in Bedfordshire under neighbouring council Buckinghamshire county council's long-term waste management plans (see letsrecycle.com story).
In his response, Mr Cameron said: “My honourable friend is right to raise this, and it is right that decisions should be made locally. We want to make sure that all the latest technology for alternatives to incineration is considered, so that we can make sure that we are using the best ways to achieve a green approach.”
The comments from Mr Cameron come shortly after it was revealed that internal Audit Commission guidance had suggested that there was a link between waste incineration and low recycling rates among councils (see letsrecycle.com story).
Lobby
In the wake of the Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron's comments were seized upon by the anti-incineration lobby which claimed that the Conservative leader's response coincided with the views of their campaign groups.
Welcoming the comments, Shlomo Dowen, national coordinator of UK Without Incineration Network (UK WIN), said: “Despite intense lobbying for incineration by certain parts of the waste industry, the Prime Minister yesterday hit out at the green wash associated with waste incineration.”
“This reply from David Cameron is welcomed by UK WIN and will be seen as a positive sign by the coalition of independent environmental groups campaigning against waste incineration.”
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