5,000 signatures reached
To: The councils of the seven London boroughs of Enfield, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Camden, Islington and Barnet.
Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now
Withdraw your support for the incinerator and demand that the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) pause the construction of the new incinerator at Edmonton and commission an independent review of the rebuild and alternatives, including a full consultation with local people.
Why is this important?
The NLWA, on behalf of the seven north London boroughs, plans to replace the current incinerator with a new, much bigger version which will burn rubbish that could otherwise be recycled. This is deeply concerning for several reasons:
The toxic pollution, including tiny particle pollution, from this new incinerator will harm everyone who lives, works and studies nearby, in one of London’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Incinerators in the UK are three times more likely to be built in deprived and diverse areas such as Edmonton; deprivation and diversity are two factors that have been proven to INCREASE the health risk factors associated with air pollution – indeed, as the recent inquest into the cause of death of Ella Kissi-Debrah has proven – air pollution can KILL. I am therefore deeply concerned the emissions from this new incinerator will cause serious harm.
The area covered by the NLWA includes much higher income areas such as Islington, Highgate and Barnet. Yet Edmonton has been selected for this development, an area least likely to be able to cope with the additional damage to the health of its community.
The incinerator is also an environmental disaster; it is predicted to emit 700 thousand tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere every year. If this waste was recycled instead of burnt, this could simply be avoided. Currently less than 30% of north London rubbish and only 10% of recyclable plastic is recycled compared to over 60% in the rest of the country. Nearly 90% of our black/orange bag rubbish is burnt as “skyfill” in the present old Edmonton incinerator.
Most of these councils, and the UK government, have declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency, and are committed to halting and reversing carbon emissions. The decision to increase emissions, instead of recycling better, is impossible to understand.
The NLWA’s consultation on the incinerator rebuild was conducted in 2015 and only within one mile of the incinerator. The consultation was completely inadequate. Most local residents are unaware of the plans to rebuild the incinerator, and meanwhile we have learned a lot more about the harm it will cause.
This unwanted incinerator will cost £1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money.
The NLWA must carry out a full, statistically reliable, independent environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed new Edmonton incinerator taking account of:
a. individual local councils’ climate emergency commitments;
b. the UK government’s 2050 net-zero commitment;
c. the European exclusion of waste-to-energy incineration from a list of economic activities considered ‘sustainable finance’;
d. the expected change in waste streams due to increased recycling rates;
e. the potential to use renewable energy rather than burning waste to generate electricity and/or heat; and
f. alternatives to incineration and landfill, through a review of best practice from other cities.
Any environmental and social impact assessment that has already been carried out is insufficient unless it has taken all of the above points into account.
Time is running out as the site is already being cleared in preparation for the build. Withdraw your support for the incinerator and demand that the NLWA pause and review the re-build before it’s too late, and even more irreparable, deadly damage is done to the local community and the planet.
The toxic pollution, including tiny particle pollution, from this new incinerator will harm everyone who lives, works and studies nearby, in one of London’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Incinerators in the UK are three times more likely to be built in deprived and diverse areas such as Edmonton; deprivation and diversity are two factors that have been proven to INCREASE the health risk factors associated with air pollution – indeed, as the recent inquest into the cause of death of Ella Kissi-Debrah has proven – air pollution can KILL. I am therefore deeply concerned the emissions from this new incinerator will cause serious harm.
The area covered by the NLWA includes much higher income areas such as Islington, Highgate and Barnet. Yet Edmonton has been selected for this development, an area least likely to be able to cope with the additional damage to the health of its community.
The incinerator is also an environmental disaster; it is predicted to emit 700 thousand tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere every year. If this waste was recycled instead of burnt, this could simply be avoided. Currently less than 30% of north London rubbish and only 10% of recyclable plastic is recycled compared to over 60% in the rest of the country. Nearly 90% of our black/orange bag rubbish is burnt as “skyfill” in the present old Edmonton incinerator.
Most of these councils, and the UK government, have declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency, and are committed to halting and reversing carbon emissions. The decision to increase emissions, instead of recycling better, is impossible to understand.
The NLWA’s consultation on the incinerator rebuild was conducted in 2015 and only within one mile of the incinerator. The consultation was completely inadequate. Most local residents are unaware of the plans to rebuild the incinerator, and meanwhile we have learned a lot more about the harm it will cause.
This unwanted incinerator will cost £1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money.
The NLWA must carry out a full, statistically reliable, independent environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed new Edmonton incinerator taking account of:
a. individual local councils’ climate emergency commitments;
b. the UK government’s 2050 net-zero commitment;
c. the European exclusion of waste-to-energy incineration from a list of economic activities considered ‘sustainable finance’;
d. the expected change in waste streams due to increased recycling rates;
e. the potential to use renewable energy rather than burning waste to generate electricity and/or heat; and
f. alternatives to incineration and landfill, through a review of best practice from other cities.
Any environmental and social impact assessment that has already been carried out is insufficient unless it has taken all of the above points into account.
Time is running out as the site is already being cleared in preparation for the build. Withdraw your support for the incinerator and demand that the NLWA pause and review the re-build before it’s too late, and even more irreparable, deadly damage is done to the local community and the planet.
