- Oppose the construction of incinerators
- Campaign for an alternative system of waste reduction and management
- Canvass public opinion and provide information about the health and environmental impact of incinerators
- Campaign for a public referendum on any incinerator schemes
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What's happening?
North Devon, Torridge District and Devon County Council are jointly proposing to build a waste incinerator in the centre of Barnstaple, on the banks of the River Taw. The facility will be used to burn 60,000 tonnes of waste per year.
Why is the council proposing to do this?
The European Union has ordered that all member states drastically reduce their disposal of waste through landfill tips. The British Government has reacted to this by making the construction of waste incinerators a priority, and local councils have been doing the same, with 69 incinerator schemes in the pipeline, with 20 already built.
Why are we opposing this?
We oppose this for several reasons, on the grounds of health, environment and recycling. Incinerators produce significant amounts of pollution when they are working properly, and this can get worse if they don't operate as planned, which happens often due to technical flaws in the design. This pollution contains dioxins and heavy metals, linked to a large number of health problems. The incinerators also negate the need to reduce and recycle waste, and instead make it useless by burning it. We will be publishing more details of the health, environmental and ecological impacts soon.
What do we propose instead?
We agree that waste cannot simply be dumped as it has been. There needs to be a clear plan at all levels of society, to reduce packaging, and encourage recycling. In terms of a recycling and waste plant, we propose something along the lines of a plant in Wakefield, albeit adapted for the needs of North Devon. Details of the Wakefield plant will be published soon.
We also say that any new recycle plant constructed must be constructed using fully-unionised labour, and the plant should be wholly owned and operated by the councils. There should be no PFI involvement.
For more information please join the Facebook group, phone 01271 328235 or email draincampaign [at] gmail.com
