The Proposed Giant Incinerator Near Stewartby - An Appalling Prospect

US waste giant Covanta have now submitted their application for a mammoth 600,000-tonne incinerator at Rookery Pit near Stewartby. The plans present an appalling prospect for local residents and for the local environment. They would see huge numbers of lorries rolling over local roads, damaging local air quality and the wider environment. To feed a giant incinerator of this size, those lorries would need to be bringing waste from across the region and possibly from locations across the country. These plans propose that after a long history of importing waste from London for landfill, this area should continue to be a dumping ground for other people's rubbish. That is unacceptable.

Incineration is an inferior waste treatment method, with a range of technologies offering a better solution for the local and wider environment now available. So, not only would the incinerator be harmful to the local community and to the environment, it is also simply not needed. I will be making this case in the strongest terms alongside local residents over the coming months, and will continue to press for the decision to be taken locally rather than at a national level.