What is a Mass Burn Incinerator?

	What is a Mass Burn Incinerator of Waste? Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) are broad terms for facilities that burn waste in a furnace or boiler to generate heat, steam and/or electricity. Combustion in an incinerator is not always perfect and there are concerns about micro-pollutants in gaseous emissions from incinerator stacks. Particular concern has focused on some very persistent organics such as dioxins which may be created within the incinerator and which may have serious environmental consequences in the area immediately around the incinerator. Click on this image to see an eight minute film which explains the issues with mass burn incinerators and their impact upon the lives and livelihoods of those living nearby and not so near. A mass burn incinerator is a quick fix, a convenient but highly polluting way of making waste disappear from view by burning it. Burning depletes resources and discourages recycling.

	Take the Incinerator Tour Click on this image to take the animated Incinerator Tour and see what the operators don't tell you. Animated tour courtesy of 'Voice' (The Voice of Irish Concern For The Environment) and the St Dennis Incinerator Group of Cornwall.

	Emissions to Air and to Water Other than water from the stacks, which will be continuous, unsightly and be seen from miles around, Biffa have admitted to us at their presentation that along with particulates released into the atmosphere there will be heavy metals, dioxins and nitrogen compounds. This toxic cocktail of chemical compounds has a history of causing birth defects, cancer, skin rashes and respiratory conditions. Water is used in the incineration process. Local water in the environment will be polluted with many of these particulates and chemicals. Carbon Dioxide, the major greenhouse gas and the major cause of climate change, will be expelled from the stack in tonnes. In an article from an organisation of professional builders we learn that "an independent study shows that currently, electricity-only incinerators produce 33 per cent more fossil fuel derived CO2 per unit energy generated than a gas fired power station. By 2020, with increases in recycling and improved technology, these incinerators will be almost as polluting in terms of CO2 emissions as new or refitted coal fired power stations, and 78 per cent worse than new gas power stations".

	Lifespan of the Incinerator It will take three years to build the incinerator and it will operate for over 25 years on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year basis. The incinerator will be running at the same time as the landfill operation we have all come to endure from Biffa. Residue The burning process leaves about 25% residue, bottom ash which will be removed from the site in lorries for use in the aggregate industry and highly toxic fly ash which is too toxic to put into the local landfill and will be taken away to a specialised site in the Midlands. Biffa have admitted that it has a pH value of about 12 which is equivalent to ammonia or bleach. So lorry loads of this toxic waste will be travelling on local roads. Site Safety Given Biffa's record for their lack of consideration for the local community this must give cause for concern. They have been fined for their inability to operate within the rules on the Westmill Landfill site which protect public safety. This is a much less complex operation where they have to dig a hole, fill it with rubbish and then cover it over. Now they want to run an incinerator with all the hazards that go with such a complex process. Biffa state that the emissions from the plant will be monitored by the Environment Agency but most of the time Biffa are required to monitor themselves. The Environment Agency's record in dealing with the stench created from Biffa's landfill operation has been singularly ineffective. Monitoring Incinerators Testing is performed infrequently, often under ideal conditions, often with 1 month's notice, and using statistically unsound methodologies. They are ineffectively regulated - the law always lags behind the science, and when companies transgress the law any fines are usually an insignificant amount. Additionally, the Environment Agency, the Health Protection Agency and the local Primary Care Trusts do not refer to the latest research in making decisions and deciding policy.

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