Some bits and bobs for your attention:
1. A request for speakers from North Yorkshire and another from South Yorkshire
2. A request from Simon (BRAINS) for details of candidates who oppose incineration
3. A poem entitled It was the community all along
4. Links to some recent articles of interest
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1. A request for speakers from North Yorkshire and another from South Yorkshire
Please contact me (Shlomo Dowen, on shlomo.dowen@gmail.com) if you are willing to offer your time, energy and knowledge to either or both of the local campaigns who are after guest speakers to deliver to public meetings (the meeting in North Yorkshire is scheduled for 25th September, and the Hatfield (Doncaster) group has yet to decide on a date – see “£200m waste plant goes green to turn rubbish into electricity” article below). Please also let me know if you are
willing to act as a guest speaker anywhere in the country (please
specify your ‘zone’).
2. A request from Simon (BRAINS) for details of candidates who oppose incineration
I received the following e-mail message from simon@canville.co.uk
I should be grateful if you would kindly ask members of UKWIN if they
know of any independent candidates [and other candidates presumably – Shlomo] being backed by anti incinerator groups. The reason is that BRAINS in south Bucks has put up a candidate to stand against Martin Tett (cabinet member of Bucks County Council responsible for the waste plan) in the forthcoming local council elections. BRAINS is also supporting two other candidates who are completely against incineration. I have heard that Keith Kondakor has organised a number of Green Party candidates to stand on a No Incineration manifesto in Nuneaton, and I feel sure other like minded groups have thrown their weight behind candidates openly opposed to incineration of waste in their local areas.
I am putting together a story to put to the nationals [i.e. national
newspapers – Shlomo] if I am able to show that local campaign groups
around the country opposed to incineration are working in concert to
back a local candidate opposed to incineration. I should like to hear
from people as soon as possible and they can email me at
simon@canville.co.uk The sooner I hear from you the better as I want to see if a picture emerges.
Also BRAINS has written to every local election candidate in south
Bucks requesting that they confirm their position on incineration.
The results thus far are very interesting. If would strongly recommend all local campaign groups do likewise and get the responses published in the local media so voters can see what the candidates opinions are on waste incineration.
Lets see if this wonderful thing called democracy really works and we
can vote in councillors who are interested in better ways to deal with
our waste than burn it.
Many thanks, Simon
NOTE: UKWIN remains avowedly ‘apolitical’ in a party political sense
3. Poem
It was the community all along
Before consultation begun
The deal was done
And their minds were made
So they ask us to pay
Without having a say
And expect us to be afraid
For they claim to know
How these things go
So who are we to disagree?
They say so much is at stake
They couldn’t have made a mistake
And thus it is fait accompli
But the more one looks
The more they seem like crooks
Not even following their own rules
If you show them the book
They’ll give a funny look
For they haven’t read it, the fools
The practices they have in place
Are a total disgrace
And even then they are doing it wrong
So when you expose them to light
It is clear who was right
It was the community all along
– Josh Dowen
12th May 2009
4. Links to some recent articles of interest
NOTE: If you are aware of any items of interest to fellow waste campaigners, please call these to my attention!
European Commission minded to uphold Newhaven complaint
In a recent article, entitled Incinerator row is coming to a head, The
Eastbourne Herald reports that the Liberal Democrat MP for Seaford,
Norman Baker, received confirmation that East Sussex County Council
failed to consult the Treasury before deciding to award a five-year
extension to Veolia without inviting rival bids…
Secretive Treasury panel meet to approve “rubbish” waste contracts
Waste campaigners are to protest outside the Treasury on Tuesday 19th May ahead of a closed meeting where officials are expected to commit millions pounds of public money to controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) waste contracts…
Bishop’s Cleeve: Toxic HotSpot
Wingmoor Farm hazardous landfill site, Bishop’s Cleeve, has been
selected to represent the UK on a map of toxic waste “hot spots”
around the world. Download – Map of toxic waste “hot spots” around the world [PDF]. The creators say this map “presents a range of examples from every continent where Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in solid wastes present risks to human health and the environment.”…
Keith quoted in Mansfield paper
Ombudsman probes county council over 3 decisions – Waste incinerator and two schools plans face investigation Nottinghamshire County Council is being investigated into how it dealt with three major developments in Mansfield and Ashfield. The Local Government Ombudsman is probing residents’ concerns about the council’s planning department in relation to…the proposed incinerator in Rainworth…
Whistleblower: Bolton incinerator should close
A whistleblower who contacted UKWIN about the Bolton incinerator has received national coverage in ENDS. We reproduce the article
with the kind permission of ENDS. Read the “cems cheatsheet” – a note that was passed on to UKWIN by whistleblower, Patrick Sudlow. The document shows the operators of the Bolton incinerator which is
operated by Greater Manchester Waste (now Viridor) how to switch off the CEMS (continuous emissions monitoring) whilst making it look as
though it is still switched on.There is no legitimate reason for doing
that…
£200m waste plant goes green to turn rubbish into electricity
The Doncaster Energy from Waste (DEW) Project, next to Hatfield
Colliery [South Yorkshire], aims to combine tried and tested
technologies from different parts of the world to process waste,
improve recycling output and deliver over 30MW of green energy from
waste…
Anger over Hatfield “incinerator”
Environmental activists protested at County Hall today about the
planned waste disposal plant in Travellers Lane, Hatfield
[Herefordshire]. Members of Hertfordshire Friends of the Earth voiced
their anger at the proposal, insisting that it will cause dangerous
pollution. The county council insists that the project, officially
known as an energy from waste plant, will, if ever built, be subject
to stringent regulation, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions
through generating electricty for local use…
Barnsley energy-from-waste project up for grabs
Plans are being drawn up for a £100m-plus energy-from-waste project in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The scheme is being jointly managed by Amey and Spanish specialist Cispa for Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster councils. It is early days in the tendering process, but
VolkerFitzpatrick is known to be among the outfits interested in
pitching for the scheme. A preferred bidder is not expected to surface
until the back end of this year, with work on the three-year job due
to start on site in 2010 or 2011…
Campaign group’s appeal for £15,000 incinerator fighting fund
Campaigners are trying to raise at least £15,000 to fight plans for an
incinerator on the former Rufford Colliery site. The cash would be
used to pay for legal advice, representation and administrative
expenses at a public inquiry. Veolia Environmental Services wants to
build the incinerator to burn 180,000 tonnes of rubbish per year, and
the plans were given backing in January from Notts County Council –
which has a 26-year waste contract with the company. However the
Government Office for the East Midlands “called in” the plans in March
and they must now be decided by an independent inspector at a public
inquiry later this year. Campaign group PAIN (People Against
Incineration) is due to speak out against the proposals…
Incineration levy and rise in landfill tax on the way [in Ireland]
A new incineration levy along with a significant hike in the present
landfill levy could be introduced by the end of the year. Minister for
the Environment John Gormley has received approval from the Government to draw up legislation which he hopes will act as an economic deterrent to both landfill and incineration, though the first
incinerator in Ireland is not likely to be up and running until 2011…
Recycling takes centre stage ahead of European elections
Waste and recycling issues have been put at the heart of the UK
Independence Party’s campaign ahead of the European elections on June 4…
NOTE: The broadcast available from the website incorrectly claimed that the Landfill Tax would continue to rise “substantially” to
between £150 and £200 a tonne by 2010 [The actual figure is £48/t for 2010/11] – [Thanks to Michael Warhurst for calling my attention to
this article and the corrected figures – Shlomo].
Hungarian mayor jailed for illegally importing German waste
The mayor allegedly pocketed 80 euros per tonne, or 320,000 euros in
all, from the deal with waste-disposal firms in Germany. A Hungarian
court sentenced the mayor of a tiny village to 18 months in jail Thursday for illegally importing and dumping 4,000 tonnes of German
waste in 2006…The newspaper said that 1,000 tonnes of the waste was still in Hungary, while the rest had been taken to Berlin for
incineration. Another 16 people were involved in the deal, including
the mayor’s wife who headed the company importing the waste. She was fined 300,000 forint and given a suspended 10-month sentence, while the others were fined and ordered to do public work…
A Cautionary Video About America’s ‘Stuff’
The thick-lined drawings of the Earth, a factory and a house, meant to
convey the cycle of human consumption, are straightforward and
child-friendly. So are the pictures of dark puffs of factory smoke and
an outlined skull and crossbones, representing polluting chemicals
floating in the air. Which is one reason “The Story of Stuff,” a
20-minute video about the effects of human consumption, has become a sleeper hit in classrooms across the nation…