Bribe Communities to accept Waste Incinerators says industry lobby group with parliamentary sponsors or so it appears…
Following what they refer to as “a five-month inquiry”, the seemingly respectable sounding “Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group” claims we need 500 waste management plants, observing that achieving planning permission “remains an acute challenge for the waste sector”.
The Group proposes re-jigging ‘public consultation’ to turn planning new waste plants into what they describe as “a win-win proposition”. They look to Europe, “where waste management has become associated with delivering social benefits”.
Their report proposes incentives, with communities offered discounts on their energy bills or allowed to own waste plants to win their ‘buy-in’. It urges the waste industry to consider the model of community-owned
wind farms, which share the profits from electricity sold to the national grid.
Community funds tied to waste contracts and operated through a committee are viewed as more “flexible” than planning gains made through section 106 agreements or the community infrastructure levy.
The new report, available on-line, is sponsored by none other than Suez Environment and SITA.
It appears the Group also propose the use of regulatory loopholes to enable local authorities to get into the waste to energy business – by throwing them some sweeteners as their version of “community involvement”, presumably in the hope that local authorities will then willingly permit the plants.
Interestingly, given the higher carbon emissions of waste incinerators compared to other management options, a word-search of the report fails to find any mention of either “carbon” or “greenhouse”!
With cross-Party co-chairs (see below) justifying the grand-sounding name, the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group turns out to be just another lobby group run by the waste industry including the big corporates. For more, visit http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/apsrg/members.
Cross-Party co-chairs of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group
Dan Rogerson Liberal Democrat
Angela Watkinson – Conservative
Barry Sheerman and Alan Whitehead – Labour
Lord Taylor of Holbeach – Conservative peer
Lord Lewis of Newnham and Veolia Trust
