Half of West Norfolk's rubbish ‘is still being burned’
Half of the rubbish produced in Norfolk is being burnt, despite plans for an incinerator on the edge of Lynn being scrapped.
The figure has been revealed in new government data and is set to raise new questions about efforts to find more sustainable ways of dealing with our rubbish, even though recycling levels are also rising.
Data from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, published yesterday, said 217,125 tonnes of rubbish in the county, 50 per cent of all waste, ended up in incinerators in 2016-2017, one of the highest totals in England.
The vast majority was used as fuel to generate heat and electricity in specialist Energy-from-Waste facilities.
Although Norfolk County Council dropped plans for an incinerator at Saddlebow four years ago, following years of campaigning by opponents, the method has become more popular nationally.
The average rate of incineration in the country is about 38 per cent, up from 30 per cent two years earlier.
But the data also shows recycling in Norfolk had risen to 46 per cent in 2016-17, up three per cent on the figure for 2014-15.
Libby Forrest, of the Enviromental Services Association which represents waste management companies, said: “Energy from Waste has increased because we are successfully moving away from landfill, which is more damaging to the environment.
“Energy from Waste saves 200kg of CO₂ per tonne of waste diverted from landfill, and generates low-carbon power far more efficiently than landfill, contributing to renewable energy targets and energy security.”
But Shlomo Dowen, national coordinator of United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), claims Britain already has an overcapacity of incineration facilities which is harming recycling efforts.
He said: “Many councils are locked into long-term waste contracts that encourage the incineration of recyclable and compostable material.
“Some councils have already broken free of these waste contracts. We need central Government to help the others renegotiate or cancel these awful contracts.”
Norfolk County Council declined to comment on the findings and referred the issue to the Norfolk Waste Partnership, of which it is a member. The partnership had not responded to a request for comment at the time of going to press.