Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Viridor Waste Management have submitted a second planning application for a large incinerator or “energy from waste facility” in Cardiff. This application is almost identical to the first one which was rejected by Cardiff Council. The proposed Viridor incinerator would be at Trident Park in Splott, between Ocean Way and the docks. It would burn 350,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Cardiff County Council's planning committee rejected Viridor's first application for a huge, polluting and wasteful incinerator at Trident Park, Glass Avenue, Splott in June 2009. The reason the planning committee gave was that waste would be brought to be burnt in the incinerator from outside the local area.

Viridor submitted an appeal to the National Assembly for Wales against the decision in October 2009. The public inquiry for the appeal will be held in July 2010.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth has several concerns about Viridor's applications for an incinerator in Cardiff.

Waste company Viridor has announced plans to build a massive incinerator in Cardiff Bay to dispose of our rubbish.

If approved, it would:

• be capable of burning three times as much rubbish as Cardiff sends to landfill sites every year
• take waste from across south Wales
• discourage more efforts to increase recycling and composting

Cardiff Friends of the Earth says

Anti-incinerator protest planned for planning meeting on 11 March 2009

Members of Cardiff Friends of the Earth are inviting people to join them and other local residents in a demonstration outside Cardiff City Hall at 1.30 pm on Wednesday (11 March), as the council's planning committee rules on proposals for a large waste incinerator in the city.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth have submitted an objection to Viridor's planning application to Cardiff County Council Planning Department.

The objection, compiled for Cardiff Friends of the Earth by the South East Wales Friends of the Earth Waste Group, objects to the planning application on the following grounds:

Splott PACT (Partnership and Communities Together) have organised a community presentation and meeting to discuss the incinerator.

Details:

The venue:  the Methodist Centre at 69B Splott Road

The date: Saturday 7th February

The time slot: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon

Viridor and their PR company, Good Relations, will be there in addition to Cardiff Friends of the Earth.

It is not just Cardiff, or even just South Wales, communities that will be adversely affected by the incinerator if Viridor's planning application is approved – communities in Cheltenham are concerned about the impact of the toxic fly ash from the Cardiff incinerator which will be dumped within 0.5km of some homes.

Haf Elgar (Friends of the Earth Cymru), Councillor Gavin Cox, Heather Webber, Anne Greagsby (Green Santa), Adam Johannes, Jenni Swettenham, Colin Robinson, Julian Rosser, Councillor Martin Holland

Photo: Chris Brown, Cardiff Friends of the Earth.

Viridor have admitted that in order to fill their 350,000 tonnes per year incinerator with rubbish will require an extra 256 waste lorries every day.

This is a 3 per cent increase in traffic congestion and pollution for Cardiff residents as the lorries bring in rubbish from all over south Wales to the site on Ocean Way.