Biffa's Proposed Incinerator

	What is being proposed? Biffa want to build a huge Mass Burn Waste Incinerator on the Landfill Site at Westmill in Ware and burn toxic commercial and industrial waste. This is not your household waste and will not solve any issues regarding domestic waste. This is purely a profit making industrial venture. The incinerator will emit nanoparticles of deadly cancer causing dioxins and poisonous lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium across the town and will release into the atmosphere tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main global warming gas. read more about emissions read more about health effects

	What is the proposed timescale? It was noticed on 17 February 2011 that Biffa had updated their website, which now says: "On January 18th 2011 we advised members of the Westmill Liaison Group that the planning application has been further delayed but that the intention is still to go ahead with the project and submit a planning application sometime this year. "We will advise the community and all interested parties as soon as we have a definite date for the actual submission". From the same section on their website they give their proposed timeline: "We intend to submit a planning application for the new energy recovery facility at Westmill sometime in 2011. "If the application is approved by the end of 2012 construction should begin in 2013. "Completion of the construction work is likely to take approximately three years. "The energy recovery facility could start to accept waste during 2016." The Biffa website update has arrived one month after their announcement in a small local meeting. We published on this website some while earlier that Biffa weren't keeping the community properly advised of their proposals. We have not been officially informed. So much for their commitment to community involvement with all interested parties. It appears that they consider that the residents of Ware, Hertford and surrounding district aren't interested parties. If Biffa had really wanted to keep the community advised and told us here at BIG we would have sent a communication to all members of BIG's contact list. They could have told the local papers. They could have put a note through our doors. There are so many ways they could have kept us informed. Is this really working in partnership with the community? Click here to see the latest timescale from 2011 to 2050. 19 July 2011 Update - At today's meeting of the Westmill Liaison Group there was no further news on any application being submitted, other than to say “it hasn’t been dropped but no application has yet been submitted”.

	Who will be affected? Make no mistake, the emissions from any Mass Burn Incinerator within 20 miles or so will affect the people of Ware, Hertford and surrounding areas. There are better, less dangerous ways of dealing with waste but our council refuse to consider them.As evidence of Hertfordshire County Council's position on this issue, they actually want to contract Veolia to build a Mass Burn Incinerator for them to burn household waste on the New Barnfield site in Hatfield. Click on the document image to read more.

	What will it look like and where is it to be built? The incinerator will tower over the town, blighting the whole area with noise and light pollution. Much of the plastic and metal to be burned could be recycled. more about incinerators This huge industrial plant is to be located on the highest point overlooking Ware on the landfill site at the junction of the A10 and the road to Stevenage (A602). It will be about 80 metres (85 yards) from the nearest house. more about traffic issues If you live within 15 miles of the incinerator you are likely to be affected in at least one way. Emissions leave the incinerator and will fall where wind and rain decides. The plan would have hundreds of polluting lorry journeys to and from the site, using the A10 and the crowded A602, carrying commercial waste to Ware, and taking highly toxic fly ash out to be landfilled miles away, in the Midlands. more about affected areas

Latest News