No to waste incinerator for Cardiff

Wed 11th Nov 09 — Chris

chimney and smoke

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

If built, 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

  • Incineration is not the best way of dealing with waste - it means burning paper and plastics that should be recycled
  • It's not a renewable way of generating energy because so much of the 'fuel' comes from plastics which are made from oil

Did you know?

  • In 2007 - 08 Cardiff Council only recycled and composted 40 per cent of our rubbish
  • In Flanders and in San Fransisco they recycle and compost over 70 per cent

Cardiff Friends of the Earth think

  • We need to do better at recycling and composting before we start building incinerators
  • Rather than sending waste trucks around south Wales we should deal with waste near to where it's produced
  • Non-incineration options such as anaerobic digestion should be explored to deal with "residual" waste - when all the recyclables have been taken out

Find out more