No2incinerator

In the next few months Leeds City Council will make a major decision on how to deal with household waste. The Council is committed to burning waste which cannot be recycled.

NIL - No Incinerator, Leeds is a new campaign led by local residents and interest groups to vigorously oppose the building of a waste incinerator.

Our aims are:

 To oppose incineration, in any form, as a means to deal with municipal waste in Leeds
 To oppose any waste processing facilities of any kind at Cross Green due to the impact on local residents
 To stop the Council’s current procurement process for a waste incinerator
 To make the Council immediately start a new procurement process without incineration and to evaluate sites other than Cross Green and Knostrop sewage works
Why waste incineration is the wrong solution:

 Once built the incinerator will run for at least 25 years burning the same amount of waste. This will undermine people’s confidence in recycling schemes. In Europe countries with high numbers of waste incinerators have the lowest recycling rates

 Incinerators produce dangerous gases and dust affecting human health

 Emissions from incinerators are controlled, but the legal limits do not meet any Standards set by a health authority, no such standards exist. The gases and very fine soot from waste incinerators have been linked to chronic lung and heart diseases, cancer, birth defects, kidney failure and abnormalities in babies

 Toxic ash is produced so landfill is still needed. When waste is burned in an incinerator it does not disappear. A large amount of bottom ash is left behind. This ash still has to be disposed of in landfill sites. In ash form, the toxins and pollutants within are more liable to leach into groundwater then they are in unburned waste

 Incinerators contribute to Climate change when waste is burned in an incinerator, heat is produced which can be used to create electricity. Waste incineration produces more greenhouse gases than any form of electricity generation apart from conventional coal burning

 Incinerators offer very few jobs compared to the recycling industry. Incinerators offer temporary jobs during construction and just a few for maintenance and operation once they are built. Recycling, reuse and repair industries offer many more jobs and often ones which are more suited to local people.

 Noise and traffic impact. Incinerators can be very noisy operations, with the loading and unloading of wastes and ash, noise from the furnace, and the loud drone of  fans. This noise can be a significant nuisance to people living or working nearby. Increased traffic may also be a big headache for local residents. An average may also be a big headache for local residents. An average sized plant handling 200,000 tonnes of rubbish per a year will mean 13,000 lorry loads a year.

 The impact on local roads more road maintenance due to heavy vehicles, and works to provide trucks with access to and from the plant. The proposed sites in Leeds already have local traffic problems particularly at peak times and issues with smells and airborne pollution from traffic.





You can contact us at no2incinerator@gmail.com if you would like more information or visit hppt://no2incinerator.blogspot.com to learn more about our activities.