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Burning Issue Group Adopts a Dormant Position
Burning Issue Group issued this statement to all its contacts on 17 Sep 2012.
We hope that this will be the last e-mail you will receive from the Burning Issue Group of Ware, because Biffa’s proposal to build an incinerator at Westmill has been withdrawn. The questions and answers below we hope will explain what we understand to be the current position and the future of the landfill site. It also sets out the future of the Burning Issue Group.
1) What is the latest news on the future of waste incineration at the Westmill site?
.. .. Biffa no longer intends to build an incinerator at Westmill.
.. .. Hertfordshire County Council has stated in its ‘Sites Allocation Document’ that Westmill is an appropriate site for, amongst other technologies, the thermal treatment of waste.
[On a related issue, HCC has commissioned Veolia to build a mass burn waste incinerator in New Barnfield in Hatfield. When this commences operation the emissions from that incinerator will travel in this direction on the prevailing wind. If you wish to know more about this project you can read more at http://www.hatfield-anti-incineration.co.uk/ .]
2) What will be happening on the Westmill Landfill Site?
Three activities are currently planned for Westmill’s future, viz:
.. .. Gravel extraction,
.. .. Landfill,
.. .. Soil Repair Centre.
.. .. None of these issues involve the incineration of waste and as a result fall outside the precise remit of the Burning Issue Group.
.. .. The Westmill Liaison Group has existed for some years as a communications channel between the owner of Westmill (Hertfordshire County Council), the operators CEMEX (extracting gravel) and Biffa (landfilling with waste), the Environment Agency (the Government unit monitoring these processes) and local politicians and some residents. It addresses issues which impact upon the community such as odour, noise, insects, litter, planning issues, waste content and contract dates. The group meets every couple of months or so.
.. .. If you have an issue you wish to raise with the Westmill Liaison Group we would advise you to approach the group through your local East Herts Councillor, Jeanette Taylor who is an active member of the Group. [Jeanette has supported B.I.G’s position throughout our campaign because she has the interests of Ware’s residents at heart and we would like to express our thanks for her support].
.. .. You can see the minutes from the June 2012 meeting here here; this includes a list of members of the group.
3) What will be happening to BIG?
.. .. Now that there is no direct threat from Biffa building a waste incinerator, B.I.G’s stated objectives are successfully met. There remains the possibility that HCC may wish to approve a waste thermal treatment plant on Westmill; B.I.G will now adopt a dormant position but continue to monitor that situation and any developments at Westmill which may involve the burning of waste.
.. .. B.I.G’s website will remain available for the time being.
.. .. When we can be reasonably assured that the need for BIG has passed then the website will be closed, your contact details will be deleted and the campaign funds generated by BIG will be given to a charity or charities. If you wish your contact details removed now, please get in touch: info@burningissuegroupware.co.uk
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Biffa Shelves Plans For Incinerator at Westmill
Biffa have made this statement
Instead of a permanent EfW facility in the southern area, we are now proposing a temporary soil recycling and recovery facility – a ‘soils repair centre’.
You can read their full statement in Biffa's newsletter.
This has come as what appears to be a welcome surprise. Burning Issue Group are gathering more information regarding this proposal and will publish a formal statement here when we can provide you with a properly considered view.
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Biffa Plans More Blight For Ware
NEWS UPDATE #01 .. 27 Jun 2012 .. Mark Prisk MP has sent a letter to the Environment Agency saying "No more". Click here to read his letter.
We've been blighted by Biffa for years. They created a stench in parts of the town. They threatened the whole area with the prospect of a mass burn incinerator.
Now Biffa have applied to the Environment Agency to vary their permit at Westmill. The changes are not date specific but appear to us to lead to the landfilling operations continuing at the site beyond 2017. They are supposed to have restored the site to Green Belt and left Ware by this date. Any extension to this date will add to the perception already in Herts County Council's mind that Westmill has a history of waste use. In turn this could increase the chances for a mass burn incinerator on the site. (This paragraph has been amended following representations to us from Biffa).
Biffa also want to add "healthcare waste" to the landfill operations, specifically “Wastes from research, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease involving animals" .. "Wastes from natal care, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease in humans" .. "dressings, plaster casts, linen, disposable clothing, diapers” .. "childcare facilities, kennels etc".
Ware Town Council have convened a meeting to hear the views of local residents. The meeting will be held in The Priory and starts at 7:30pm on Monday, 11th June 2012. This is after the England Euro 2012 game has finished and will enable residents the chance to have their say before the end of the consultation period on Friday 15th June 2012 (this has now been extended to 12th July 2012).
The report of the meeting can be seen in the Information Document.
Read more here. | | | | |
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| The Mass Burn Incinerator Proposal |
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Biffa want to build an industrial plant at Westmill in Ware on land which was promised to be returned to Green Belt in 2017 when the gravel extraction and landfill had finished. Their reason for doing this is profit.
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It is a Mass Burn Incinerator to burn 400,000 tonnes of unseparated waste every year for up to 30 years gathered from commercial and industrial businesses which could be anywhere in the UK or maybe even overseas. This is not your household waste.
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It will operate for 24 hours every day for 7 days per week and 52 weeks per year for maybe 30 years with lorries bringing waste and other lorries taking away ash to go to landfill.
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The chimney stack is proposed to be over 90 metres high, taller than Big Ben. The industrial building will be 47 metres high, almost 10 metres taller than St Mary’s Church in Ware, including the spire on top of the tower. The building’s footprint will be roughly the size of that part of Ware between the High Street and Church Street.
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View a presentation of the issues
 13mb Powerpoint presentation |
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Proposed Timescale (approximate)
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2011 – Biffa says it will submit plans for planning approval sometime this year (we will update this page as soon as we know their plans are in)
2012 – commence building
2016 – incinerator becomes operational
~~ at least 30 years later ~~
2046 – incinerator shuts down
2047 – plant dismantling commences*
2050 – plant dismantling finishes
* it takes about 3 years to dismantle the plant as the site is made highly toxic during the incineration process
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Mass Burn Incineration of Waste in Hertfordshire |
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 Hertfordshire County Council have decided to commission their own "waste management facility".
This is a mass burn incinerator which will burn domestic and commercial waste and will be sited next to the Special School in the New Barnfield area of Hatfield. You can read more about this decision on the Hatfield Against Incineration (HAI) and Herts Without Waste (HertsWoW) websites. Click on the link to find out what HCC are saying about their own Waste Development Framework including their site allocation plans.
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 UK Government Waste Review (June 2011)
"We need, as a society, to value products and care about how they are made and used, and how we deal with them when we no longer need or want them. If not, we will not only increase costs at a time when we are facing real challenges in reducing the deficit, but we will also have a negative impact on our environment." Click on this link to the Waste Review to find out how the UK Government thinks we should manage our waste. The thrust of the government argument is not to burn it or put it in landfill but to drive waste management up the waste hierarchy.
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