Norwich Council Tells Spelman No to Waste to Energy Plant

09 January 2012

Brenda Arthur, leader of Norwich City Council, has written to the Secretary of State to make clear the council's opposition to a proposed waste to energy facility.

According to the council this is significant as two of the PFI rules laid down by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are dependant upon local authority support.

The council said that in early November last year Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, wrote to Norfolk County Council (NCC) stating she was still not satisfied they meet the criteria for the award of PFI (Waste Infrastructure) credits; a reassertion of her position previously stated in June 2011.  The credits are necessary to part finance a proposed moving grate mass burn waste to energy facility.

Richard Burton, managing director of Burton Environmental Consulting Ltd and an IEMA accredited environmental auditor commented: "With clear opposition from both the Council that would host the incinerator (West Norfolk) and the Council that takes County Hall's own waste (Norwich), it would now indeed represent a tearing up of the PFI rules should the Secretary of State release the credits."

According to the council, one PFI criterion is that, "Proposals should demonstrate that other relevant authorities, the public, and interested parties have been consulted and that there is a broad consensus supporting a recognised long term waste management strategy which is reflected in the proposed solution."

The council said that the proposal is integral to the Waste Management Strategy, as it would receive 40% of the County's waste. However, opposition from both local authorities and the public is said to have been long term and county-wide.

DEFRA refers to the results of a 2008 Future of Waste in Norfolk consultation as demonstrating a broad public consensus - 7831 residents responded to this consultation.  However, the council argues that there were no direct questions about waste technologies, but in an open question 39 stated a preference for incineration, and 99 opposed it.  When asked to rate their most important factor the most popular by a wide margin was 'recycling and composting.'  Asked to identify the 'least important' factor, the 'production of heat and steam' came out on top. 

65 Parish Councils from throughout Norfolk objected to the planning application, with only 9 in support. In addition the proposals were soundly beaten in a local referendum on the issue.

"The consultation showed the public didn't support 'production of heat and steam' and yet the Council's (OJEC, April 2009) tender stated its preference for this very technology," Burton added.

Furthermore, in addition to a consensus from public authorities the PFI award criteria requires that in 'two-tier' local government areas both authorities should contribute to the goals of a local Waste Strategy.  According to NCC the Borough Council is threatening to leave the Waste Management Partnership and has allocated funds for Judicial Reviewing the planning decision. 

NCC also points to another criteria that schemes should "contribute to or complement longer-term national targets for recycling and composting" and also a requirement to demonstrate, "that there is no future barrier to meeting reduction, reuse and recycling targets." However, the council claimed that its most recent predictions show a municipal waste recycling (& composting) rate of 47% in 2020, below the National Waste Strategy target of 50%.


Letter from Leader of Norwich City Council to Secretary of State. 

 
Dear Ms Spelman,

Funding Proposal from Norfolk County Council - Energy from Waste I refer to your current consideration of the proposal from Norfolk County Council for funding for an energy from waste plant. As you already know Norwich City Council's position on the disposal of residual waste has been in the public domain since January 2007. This position has not changed in the intervening years. For clarity full council resolved on 30th January 2007 as follows:-
 

'This Council confirms its opposition to any form of incineration of Norfolk's waste. Key concerns include:

1. the effect of emissions on human health and the environment
2. (the fact that incineration contracts with private companies create a demand for waste, when the primary objective must be to reduce the amount of it that is produced.

This Council is opposed to any form of waste treatment that involves incineration. This includes a full-blown incinerator but also any other form of treatment involving burning (such as forms of Mechanical Biological Treatment that produce Refuse Derived Fuel for burning) as the concerns expressed above apply in each case.
 
This Council believes that a combination of comprehensive doorstep local facilities and a resource recovery park is the only sustainable way to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. If further treatment of residual waste is absolutely necessary, a network of small anaerobic digestion plants should be pursued.
 
Furthermore, this Council calls upon the Government to introduce legislation to reduce waste at source by strict regulation and taxes on packaging.
 
This Council welcomes the news that incineration is likely to no longer be the County Council's preferred option for residual waste treatment but is concerned that it remains the reserve option. This Council resolves to ask Executive members and senior officers to lobby County Council Cabinet members and officers (and Councillors and officers from other Norfolk districts) to rule out incineration and pursue the favoured policy outlined above.'
 
I am sure you will take into account the position of this council in your current deliberations.
 
Cllr Brenda Arthur
Leader of the Council


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