Hertfordshire County Council proposes to build a 380,000 tonnes per year incinerator to burn waste.
On April 28th 2011 they decided to go ahead with this plan, despite all the opposition that has been expressed, both to incineration as a method of dealing with waste, and to the use of New Barnfield in South Hatfield as a site for waste treatment. They are negotiating a contract with Veolia Environmental Services to build an incinerator at New Barnfield and to run it for twenty five years.
The proposed incinerator would deal with a minimum of 180,000 tonnes of domestic waste from the county, and Veolia would make up the shortfall with commercial and industrial waste brought in from anywhere.
To build the incinerator, Veolia have to submit a planning application (probably in November 2011), and this application will be considered by a Panel of Herts County Council. Veolia also have to conduct “pre-planning consultation”, starting in May 2011.
“Hatfield Against Incineration” is a non-party-political group founded by residents of Hatfield and Welham Green. The campaign against an incinerator at New Barnfield is supported by Welwyn-Hatfield M.P., Grant Shapps (Housing Minister), Welwyn-Hatfield Borough Council, Hatfield Town Council, and by some Hertfordshire County Councillors (Labour, Lib-Dem, Green and some Conservative county councillors). We are also supported by environmental groups throughout the county, including Herts WithOut Waste, Transition Town Movements, and Friends of the Earth.
INCINERATION IS THE WRONG WAY TO DEAL WITH WASTE
for the following reasons:
1. There is not enough non-recyclable and non-compostable domestic waste to feed an incinerator now, and there will certainly not be enough in 25 years time. A scheme for waste treatment must allow for the increase in recycling and decrease in production of waste (such as packaging) that will happen in the future. The Herts incinerator scheme assumes a low rate of recycling and would be a disincentive to improving recycling.
2. An incinerator would be expensive - £220 million to build, using expensive PFI funding, and £1.3billion to run. This cost needs to be compared not to landfill, which will stop, but with environmentally-friendly methods, which are cheaper. These costs have to be paid for by residents through council tax.
3. An incinerator would waste valuable resources such as paper and plastics.
4. Incinerators create C02, which contributes to global warming.
5. Incinerators create emissions that many scientific researchers know to be harmful to health.
6. Incinerators create dangerous toxic fly ash, which has to be landfilled on a specially licensed site, and which has to be transported there.
7. The modern alternative to incineration is to aim for zero waste, with anaerobic digestion and composting being used for biodegradable waste, with most other materials being recycled. Some landfill can safely be used for inert materials, and landfilling these does not carry a heavy penalty.
8. An incinerator would make a huge impact on one area. It would create many thousands of unnecessary lorry movements, all causing pollution.
THE NEW BARNFIELD SITE IS NOT SUITABLE TO BE A WASTE SITE
And these are some of the reasons:-
1. An incinerator here would be right next to Southfield School for primary-age children with special needs, and heavy traffic would pass the school, causing noise and pollution.
2. An incinerator here would be on the same narrow access-road as a Tesco Depot, which already has lorries every few minutes, so traffic chaos would be caused.
3. The site is very close to housing and a recreation ground, which would be affected by traffic noise and fumes.
4. The site is in the Green Belt, a narrow strip preventing the merging of Hatfield with the village of Welham Green.
5. There is a Covenant on the land, restricting its use to libraries, schools and similar amenities. Herts CC would have to over-ride this Covenant.
6. The site is next to a wild-life site with a Countryside Management Services Nature-Walk. Many rare birds can be seen here. There is another wild-life site actually on New Barnfield.
7. A cycle-path, part of the Great North Way, runs along the edge of the site.
8. Immediately next to the site, and actually on the site, are ponds containing great-crested newts, a protected species which it is illegal to disturb.
9. Visual intrusion would affect a very wide area from this high site. A close view would be seen from the cemetery, and by residents of Welham Green and Hatfield.
10. Emissions from the stack would spread over a large area, including the grounds of nearby historic Hatfield House.
11. The site is not empty. The Central Resources Library (a lending and reference library) would have to be moved or closed. This amenity would be lost to Hatfield and to the county.
