Campaigners have penned an open letter in which they say there is more than enough local incinerator capacity on Teesside and predict there may not be enough rubbish generated in future years for a controversial planned facility.
Stop Incineration North East and Medact – a group of campaigning medical professionals – said the estimated 450,000 tonnes of residual waste due to be treated each year by the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF) could in fact fall to less than 200,000 tonnes if government targets for household waste reductions were met.
Seven councils are onboard with the £300mn project, including Redcar and Cleveland Council, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle, which could be operational in 2029 should a decision be made, as expected, on a contract award in the coming months.
Open letter
In an open letter sent to Denise McGuckin, managing director of Hartlepool Council, which is leading the procurement process, the groups said: “If we get our regional waste house in order and double our recycling rates over the next few years, remove food waste – one third of it, by tonnage of our overall waste collected – the amount of residual waste will drop significantly, and would therefore never make up the feedstock requirements for the TVERF contract.
“Besides, there is enough existing capacity on Teesside to meet this transitional period of change.
“Our region currently produces just under 1m tonnes of waste per annum, and yet we have 1.2m tonnes of existing incineration capacity, excluding other facilities like the TVERF, which have been passed and permitted but not yet built.”
It claimed burning one tonne of residual waste generated one tonne of CO2 and was not safe for the planet.
Meanwhile, an emissions trading scheme set to be introduced by the government would amount to an average extra £3mn a year in charges for each local authority signed up to the scheme on top of other budgeted costs.
The letter also rejected allegations of “scaremongering” stating scientific, fact-based evidence had been produced in respect of the TVERF and such statements did nothing to promote a “rational discussion”.
A statement from the project partners in response said: “The Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility project represents the safest, most reliable and most sustainable way to manage our region’s residual waste and is fundamentally a continuation of practices that have taken place in Teesside for many decades now without incident or concern.
“The best way to avoid sending waste to energy recovery is by reducing waste in the first place; re-using items as many times as possible and then by increasing recycling.
“The partner authorities are committed to achieving these outcomes, but there are significant challenges associated with this, which require interventions from government, manufacturers, retailers, consumers and those involved in the management of waste.
“Even with the right policy interventions to meet national recycling targets, government still estimates that every single person in the UK will, on average, generate nearly 300kg of waste each year by 2042, which equates to a 50% reduction on current levels, but a significant volume when multiplied by the 1.5mn people the TVERF partner authorities serve – underscoring the long-term need for this vital facility. “
The procurement process is now in its final stages with an optimised final tender response being received by would-be operator Viridor last month and being evaluated.
Demonstration
On Thursday campaigners against the facility due to be built on the Grangetown Prairie site at Teesworks took part in a demonstration outside the civic centre in Redcar.
In a motion due to be heard at the council calling for the cancellation of the scheme, but subsequently postponed, Councillor Tristan Learoyd said the planned facility was “within walking distance” of an incinerator, Wilton 11, which processes household waste from Merseyside.
He said the councils involved would face a financial penalty able to be levied by the operator should supply targets for rubbish not be met.
Paul Foster, a member of Stop Incineration North East, said:
“Building new incinerators on Teesside is irresponsible and unnecessary. “We already have more incinerators than we have waste to burn in the region, so the only ones benefiting here are the private waste companies profiting at the expense of our communities, our councils, and our planet.
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