Why should candidates in Northern Ireland sign the UKWIN Recycling Pledge?
UKWIN is calling on candidates in the forthcoming elections to agree with the need to stop building new incineration capacity, and the need to minimise waste incineration by maximising waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
Incineration competes with recycling
Northern Ireland must not replicate the mistakes made in England, where high levels of incineration capacity are acting as a barrier to recycling ambitions.
The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 states that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) “must ensure that at least 70% of waste is recycled by 2030”.
Wales, where a moratorium on new incineration capacity was introduced in March 2021 went on to achieve 66% recycling in 2022/23, with several Welsh local authorities reaching 70%+ recycling rates.
According to a DAERA kerbside residual waste study, the majority of the contents of the residual bin was made up of waste types that could commonly be recycled at the kerbside.
Environmental concerns
The Belfast Energy from Waste incinerator reported that in 2023 there were more than 20 permit breaches at the plant and that the plant exceeded its permitted half-hourly limit for hydrogen chloride for more than 16% of the time the plant was operational.
Concerns have been raised about a range of potentially harmful impacts associated with the incinerator proposed for Hightown in Newtownabbey (north of Belfast city centre), including concerns about harm to Lough Neagh highlighted in April 2024 by Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Environment (DAERA).
Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland has noted: “Northern Ireland’s air, water and soils are in a bad way. We have the least protected environment in the UK and Ireland. It’s a real worry for the 1.8m people living here…Northern Ireland has no independent Environmental Protection Agency…Environmental law is a set of regulations that covers everything from climate breakdown to new developments in your town. If used properly, it can help protect the environment from harmful proposals like incinerators…”
Incineration can exacerbate climate change
Every tonne of waste burned releases around one tonne of CO₂. According to their 2023 Annual Performance Report, the Belfast Energy from Waste incinerator released around 1,483 grams of fossil CO2 per kWh of energy exported (i.e. 1.67 tCO2/MWh exported minus 11.2% biogenic fraction). This is significantly higher than Northern Ireland’s 2021 grid average of 322 grams of CO2 equivalent per kWh generated, making the incinerator higher carbon than both gas and coal.
Thank you to everyone who has pledged or asked a candidate to pledge!
