An proposed 'montrous' incinerator to be built at Rookery Pit, Stewartby, Bedford (1 Viewer)

[Peewit]

Hi there

I received our local freebie Times & Citizen this morning and found this article on the front page on the links below. I see this 'plan' has been thought about for years now away back as far as 2007 so it is nothing new at all.

An proposed 'monstrous' incinerator proposal to be built at Rookery Pit, Stewartby, Bedford.

http://www.bedfordlibdems.org.uk/en...it-stewartby-and-burnt-in-a-giant-incinerator

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News/Protesters-show-strength-against-incinerator-plan.htm

Marston Vale is a place close to my heart due to my many visits to the reserve - along with Castle Mill Sluice and Paxton Pits (I am a member of this Reserve now) I feel a certain sense of why is this happening to my area - or not on my front door as many say on here

What I do not understand is that the mentioned area is going to be transformed into a large reserve joining many local areas together from Paxton Pitt, Castle Mill Sluice, Priory Park, to Marston Vale itself. It is a community based issue at hand here.

Why on earth would anyone consider a large incinerator in an area where there is a 'current' nature reserve. Many bird species/wildlife will be affected because of this monstrosity at our doorstep. :C

Maybe I am over-reacting but I am feeling annoyed that there seems to be little concern for the area at all. The general feeling I get from reading the article is that the government are looking for anywhere rather than somewhere suitable to the facility. :C

Anyway I will get off my soapbox now, and I would love to hear peoples views about this. :t:

It would be good if people signed the petition to stop the works:

http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/incinerator&petition=success&id=729&lang=eng

Regards
Kathy
x

 

[MJB]

Although there are high-tech incinerators that can deal with such as dioxins, these are very expensive, in part because their performance is optimised only if their output waste products are constantly monitored and those that monitor them have the clear authority to shut them down when rectification or adjustment is needed. This authority has to be independent of the operator's control.

Although this process can be automated to some extent, it does require costly specialised manpower at all times. I suspect that in the UK many incinerator schemes based on modern technology do not include the monitoring and delegated authority aspect in the tenders or contracts, possibly because Councils lack awareness of why these aspects are over-riding.

Another tactic that is useful is to obtain the technical specifications of any proposed incineration plant and to find out from locations where similar designs have been built, to discover the EU, national and legal criteria that these installations have had to meet (and to learn of any problems). For example, any monitoring network of detectors would have to be extensive, and carefully biased to cope with the direction of the prevailing wind.

This 'research' has to be done before any Council consultation period, because inevitably it will skew daily operating costs if these aspects have not been built into the tender or contract.

The 'all incinerators are bad' mantra is unlikely to be true for all cases, but if any assertion is repeated often enough in a way that dares anyone to challenge it, the presence of neutral evidence will be ignored. Whether the proper operating costs would ever be considered from the beginning is another issue, for it would reveal the likely lifetime costs that in our democratic system would be regarded as locally unacceptable. The overall context also has to be kept in mind, that no disposal system is a totally safe, risk-free option.

Sadly, the majority of people recognise that the scale of waste disposal in UK is enormous and that its safe disposal is essential, but want somebody else to pay for that disposal over and above the precept on their Council Tax.

I have a rough idea of where the proposed site is, but if the incinerator isn't to go there, opponents need to suggest an alternative site or an alternative disposal method. It has to go beyond the vague 'They should sort it out' assertion (local Councils/County Councils/ national government/EU - take your pick!).
MJB

 

[Andy Hurley]

I quite agree with MJB, the NIMBY approach does not work unless a big enough lobby protests sufficiently. It has to go somewhere so an alternative site needs to be found.
As MJB says, these things are inherently safe if all the right precautions and monitoring are maintained by skilled personnel. But, these days with businesses trying to screw as much profit out of all they undertake, and the Goverment cutting costs, the monitoring could well be not as good as it should be. But if you find an endangered species at the site, especially red listed, it gives reasonable grounds to put a halt to the plan before construction commences. Just don't enourage the wrong sort of "environmental" protesters to the site or will cause more damage than the incinerator.

Andy

 

[mjh73]

I would have thought constructing an incinerator for the county at a site already heavily modified by industrial use would be fairly logical to be honest.
Emissions from such facilities are regulated and monitored by the Environment Agency IIRC (though I'm not au fait with current set up back in the UK) and emissions will be less likely to cause you harm than your typical daily intake of car exhaust fumes......the news items seem quite hysterical - its a FOREIGN company and lots of the waste will be from SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE BEDFORDSHIRE. (To add some context much of London's waste was transported by the trainload to Stewartby and land-filled for many years, incineration is a much better option than that)

 

[Penny Clarke]

.......Anyway I will get off my soapbox now, and I would love to hear peoples views about this. :t:

It would be good if people signed the petition to stop the works:

http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/incinerator&petition=success&id=729&lang=eng

Regards
Kathy
x

Hi Kathy

See my Incinerator thread also on here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=192194

and also my blog http://pennyshotbirdingandlife.blogspot.com/2011/02/please-sign.html?showComment=1297556742508#c6128315023453920721 where Graham Jones emailed me with this:

http://www.foe.co.uk/community/campaigns/healthy_planet/incineration_case_studies.html

I also found this: http://www.ecomed.org.uk/publications/reports/the-health-effects-of-waste-incinerators

 

[Geoff Brown]

Good site for an incinerator would be in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. It would keep London warm and get rid of all sorts of rubbish!8-P