The battle to stop Aire Valley incinerator plant

TO THE casual observer, it must seem like they’re fighting a losing battle.

It’s classic David versus Goliath: on one side, concerned and angry residents, self-organised, financed only by donations; on the other, the might of Bradford Council, the Department for the Environment and a new company formed specifically to profit from the creation of an “energy from waste” plant.

In many ways, the odds are stacked against the protesters. The Council has granted planning permission for the £135 million incinerator on the basis it uses brownfield land (the former gasworks at Marley, near Keighley), will create jobs it will generate energy while helping to dispose of waste.

To make matters worse, the Government has refused to call in the scheme for further scrutiny.

For some of those fighting tooth and nail to stop the scheme, it must seem daunting.

And yet…

The members of Aire Valley Against Incineration (including more than 6,000 signed up to their Facebook group) are far from alone. Similar battles are being fought across the country by ordinary concerned citizens who are not willing to accept the promises and reassurances of those intent on burning waste.

Only last week, protesters fighting an incinerator in Horsham, West Sussex, were given a reprieve when the developers withdrew plans just hours before the County Council was due to make a decision.

Protesters in Norfolk celebrated when a scheme for King’s Lynn was scrapped after more than four years of delays and, in Gloucester, residents have enlisted the vociferous help of A-list actor Jeremy Irons to fight an energy-from-waste plant outside the city.

In Sutton, South London, residents are still staging protests and mounting legal challenges four years after their council approved plans for an incinerator.

Closer to home, the Cheshire Against Incinerator Network (CHAIN) is more than six years into its campaign.

These are just examples: there are dozens of battles going on across the UK against potential incinerators. The good news for campaigners, though, is they are outnumbered by the tally of schemes which have been successfully prevented.

The battle against burning waste is a global phenomenon. Just three weeks ago, the US Conference of Mayors, with the support of organisations such as the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, beat off pressure from the waste-to-energy industry to unanimously agree a renewable energy plan that does not include municipal waste burning.

These groups have one thing in common: a determination to right what they see as a catastrophic wrong, the choice of burning as a method of disposing of waste in the face of a passionately-held belief that doing so is to pollute the air and create untold health problems for generations to come.

They all point out there are other methods of disposing of waste which do not carry the same risks and there are examples – in Cardiff and Derby, for instance – where energy-to-waste plants are failing to fulfil their promises of power generation because residents are good at recycling and they can’t find enough waste to burn.

Endless Energy says its development will help divert around 100,000 tonnes of Refuse-Derived Fuel waste away from landfill each year, creating enough energy to potentially power the equivalent of up to 20,000 homes.

It says its scheme is designed to operate “well within some of Europe’s strictest environmental limits, particularly with regard to emissions” and will be subject to continuous monitoring and “tightly controlled” by the Environment Agency.”

None of which convinces the members of AVAI.

So, do they draw encouragement from those fighting similar battles around the country?

Simon Shimbles, chair of the AVAI committee, says: “I am both saddened that there is a need to fight this on so many individual fronts, and endlessly encouraged that so many people feel compelled and empowered to act.

“AVAI are in contact with a number of other campaigns and we draw hope and inspiration from them all. I feel personal affinity with the residents of Runcorn, having first-hand experience of conditions at and around that facility.

“People are waking up to the “greenwash” that is spread by the very persuasive publicity machine being run on behalf of the so called “energy from waste” industry. Their efficiency claims and environmental credentials are suspect to say the least.

“As a means of waste disposal, incineration comes just barely above landfill in the hierarchy of waste disposal methods. We are part of a much wider movement, both in the UK and abroad.

“However, what is needed urgently here in the UK, is pressure on the government to not prop up this industry with public money in the form of grants which properly belong in the domain of renewable technologies – which incinerators most definitely are not.

AVAI’s battle will continue on two fronts. They have lodged an application for a Judicial Review of the Council’s decision to grant planning permission and they intend to contest the issuing of an Operating Licence when Endless Energy Ltd eventually apply for one.

The Environment Agency could take up to a year to make a decision so do AVAI have the stamina to see it through?

“I have come to see incineration in a wider context than just toxic emissions being foisted on an unwilling community,” says Mr Shimbles. “It is a global issue. I believe that climate change is the single most pressing issue facing humankind today.

“Incineration and similar waste “solutions” are symptoms of our unwillingness to tackle climate change. Incinerators not only pollute the air, land and water, they do absolutely nothing to challenge our throwaway society.

“They are an outmoded quick fix to a linear economy; make it, use it, throw it away. They encourage waste production and drive down recycling rates.

“The proposed development at Marley would affect my family, my friends, my neighbours, my community and beyond for generations to come. I am incensed when I think that there are those who would make private profit whilst expecting the rest of us and our planet to pick up the cost.

“It is this outrage and sense of injustice which motivates me along with a desire to be "part of the solution, not the problem.

“I feel compelled to act. Every day that we delay and eventually stop this incinerator from going ahead is a victory. Campaigning for a better world and to protect our children’s futures can take over your life, but it also gives it depth and meaning.”

What resources will they need to continue over an extended period?

“We will need money, continued public support, our technical and scientific expertise, continued access to the absolute best legal expertise, and finally, the energy, commitment, imagination and immense collective talent of our wonderful campaigners, supporters and fundraisers.

“By the way, this campaign does not belong just to those already involved. It belongs to all of us. We are all affected and entitled to act.

How confident are they about the outcome?

Mr Shimble’s response is unequivocal: “I am absolutely convinced that we will stop this incinerator being built, that is a given.

“But in addition to that, this campaign has already succeeded. It has shown people the power of collective action.

“It is empowering people to take back control. We will succeed because we have to - for all our sakes.”