WE'RE getting close to a decision by the council on whether or not to allow 75,000 tonnes per year of extra waste to be imported into Sheffield to be burnt at the incinerator. It's a test of the new Lib Dem council and of how green they actually are.
Let's not forget that they lost control of the council in 2002 over their decision to back the construction of the incinerator. Are they reformed born-again greenies?
The key word here is sustainability. We're currently seeing oil and gas price ri
ses because we've not looked after those resources and they're now starting to run out. We need to look after our resources. This doesn't mean just burning them in the incinerator.
It even states in Veolia's Non Technical Summary for the planning application for this waste importation that: 'Planning policy at a national, regional and local level sets out the context for proposals in terms of sustainable approach to energy and waste management considerations'.
Burning this resource does not count as sustainable. This is typical of the modern misuse of this word.
Real sustainability with regard to waste and energy means waste minimisation, re-use, repair and recycling. As we begin to achieve this and starve the incinerator, we need to increasingly substitute household waste for biomass, such as forestry waste, to fuel the incinerator's combined heat and power plant.
Jeff Rice, South Yorkshire Against Incineration
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