Celebrations And Jubilations

Residents Against Pollution have something to celebrate at the end of 2008.

We started 2008 with a threat to the health and safety of local residents. A consultation began on the North London Waste Plan, which was looking at new sites for waste disposal across North London. There was a risk that at least one of the facilities could be a new incinerator or expansion of the Edmonton incinerator (under the euphemistic guise of Energy from Waste (EfW) plants) and the Blackhorse Lane regeneration area was earmarked as a potential new site.

At the start of the year, local residents launched our campaign against these plans with a public meeting of 40 angry residents in the Blackhorse Lane area. We demanded: Hands off Blackhorse Lane, No to Incinerators, and Give us a Real Say! We also protested about the fact that around two-thirds of existing waste facilities in North London are in the working class area along the Lea Valley, mainly Enfield and Waltham Forest, and that half the new proposed sites were in Waltham Forest.

When the results of the first phase of the consultation, published in the summer, confirmed our suspicions, we called a protest at the town hall. Around 20 local residents gave out leaflets door-to-door and at the tube station and college.

In a short time and with hardly any money, we reached around 30,000 people with our material – considerably more than the 20 people the consultants managed to get along to their workshop! 30 people came to our lively protest, and a small group lobbied another council meeting two weeks later. The Waltham Forest Guardian reported on our campaign three times.

Suddenly councillors, the consultants and the waste authority all wanted to talk to us. We invited them to attend our next meeting, where once again around 40 local people made our views clear. Though it is still of some disappointment and no little disenchantment, that the three Higham Hill Ward Councillors (including Cllr Patrick Smith who is on the LBWF Environment Scrutiny Committee) seem reluctant to honour their offer of a community meeting with RAP supporters. We are pursuing this matter further.

As a result of these actions and meetings we are pleased to report that our message seems to be getting through. Though we only have verbal hints at this stage, it looks like Blackhorse Lane is now unlikely to be chosen as a new waste site. We are trying to get something in writing, and we won’t know for sure till the “preferred options” stage of the consultation process is reached in May, when it will be clear whether Blackhorse Lane is still an option. But this is great progress!

The North London Waste Authority has now voted on its plans for the type of technology they want to use over the next few years. Their document is entitled “A Future Without Incineration”! Once again there are big warnings attached to this – the plans still have to be approved by government, and they are dependent on private finance, which in the current disastrous economic climate is far from assured. Many in the RAP campaign believe that waste disposal should not be a privatised service but should be brought back in-house.

Nonetheless, a written plan to avoid incineration (i.e. not to build a new or expand the existing Energy from Waste [EfW] plant) across seven North London boroughs is a huge achievement. This is in a context where both the European Union and the government are pushing for a big increase in incineration as a solution to the problem of landfill sites.

But our campaign argued that incineration is no solution – it is dangerous, polluting, and there are much safer and “greener” technologies which a genuine plan to reduce, re-use and recycle waste should utilise. We have added a local, organised and active voice to the national propaganda from campaigns such as Friends of the Earth, and it would seem we have had an effect.

We cannot be complacent. Nothing is guaranteed. RAP campaigners are continuing to keep up the pressure on local councillors, and are ready to campaign again in May next year. But we end the year with something to celebrate: campaigning works!

NLWA Business Plan Outline: A Move Away From Incineration

Here is the North London Waste Authority's press release re their Business Plan to secure funding both private and governmental to realise the North London Waste Plan. This was misinterpreted in the Waltham Forest Guardian article entitled Greens Breathe a Sigh of Relief (online version here), 16th-22nd Oct 2008 edition.

"A future without incineration

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has today announced plans which would see a move away from traditional incineration and landfill in favour of a more sustainable approach to managing waste in the area.
The Authority, in partnership with the seven north London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest), is rethinking the way in which household waste in the area is managed.
A new long term approach that prioritises waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery over sending waste to landfill and incineration is being sought.

Speaking today, the Chair of the North London Waste Authority, Councillor Clyde Loakes said:
"The NLWA is seeking a 21st century solution to managing waste in the area.
"As an Authority we believe that prioritising waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery over current disposal methods will enable us to manage our waste in the most affordable and environmentally friendly way we can.
"We hope that this approach will not only help us reduce north London's carbon footprint but will also enable us to offer our residents the best possible solution for managing waste into the future."

In north London approximately 1 million tonnes of waste is produced every year, currently only 24% of this is recycled, the rest is either incinerated (40%) at the Edmonton incinerator in Enfield, or goes to landfill sites in the Home Counties¹ (36%).
The aim is that by 2020 north London will be meeting tough regional, national and European waste targets and will be achieving:
• A 50% recycling and composting rate (double the existing rate); and
• A reduction in the amount of waste sent for disposal to landfill from 36% to 15%;

Like authorities across the UK the NLWA must meet these targets or face being heavily penalised. In order to meet these targets new waste facilities are needed.

The new plans have been developed to ensure north London has the necessary facilities in place when its existing waste disposal contract comes to an end in 2014. They form the basis of a business case which members of the NLWA² will be asked to formally approve in a meeting on 29th October.

The business case sets out the Authority's plans for dealing with waste in north London and the facilities it needs to effectively do so. It also acts as an application for millions of pounds of financial support³, which will help the Authority cover the cost of the new facilities.

If approved by NLWA members on 29th October, the business case will be sent to government for consideration.

The proposed plans for north London include:

• Four new and refurbished household waste and recycling centres (sometimes called “civic amenity” sites);
• Two new materials recovery facilities to sort metal, plastics, glass, paper and cardboard so that they can be recycled;
• Composting and anaerobic digestion facilities; (anaerobic digestion is the process that turns biodegradable waste into biogas which can be used to create electricity)
• Two mechanical biological treatment plants to treat waste which cannot be recycled to create fuel;
• A combined heat and power plant that uses that recovered fuel instead of fossil fuels; and
• A sustainable transport solution involving rail and/ or water transport.

The Authority has begun to look at where new facilities will be located and has considered sites across all seven north London boroughs. Although it is too early to know the exact location of these sites it is looking likely that they will be located in the Hendon and Upper Lee Valley areas. Commercial negotiations are however still under way.

Both these fall within areas identified by the Mayor of London, in the London Plan, as suitable for waste facilities. These areas also fall within the North London Waste Plan⁴ which has been through various stages of public consultation.

Further information on sites will be made available as negotiations progress.

Notes to Editors:
For more information please contact Rosie Elliott, Media and Marketing Officer for the North London Waste Authority, on 07789 032324 or rosie.elliott@camden.gov.uk.

1) Space in landfill sites is fast running out. There are currently only three years left before all landfill space in the east of England is filled up (at the current disposal rate, according to the Environment Agency).

2) The NLWA is made up of 14 councillors, two from each of the seven North London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest). It is these 14 councillors that ultimately make decisions relating to the disposal of North London's waste.

3) The NLWA will be applying for financial help through PFI (Private Finance Initiative) credits. PFI has been used to pay for new schools and hospitals and is increasingly being used for funding new waste facilities. What it means for north London is that we can get financial help for investment in much needed facilities, easing the burden on local tax payers.

4) The North London Waste Plan is the land use planning document being developed by the same seven north London boroughs in their role as planning authorities to tackle all waste produced in North London (not just household waste as in the case of the NLWA). The North London Waste Plan is a completely separate process from the NLWA. For more information go www.nlwp.net.

About the North London Waste Authority
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) was established in 1986 and is the waste disposal authority for Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest. This means its primary function is to arrange the transport and disposal of waste collected by these boroughs. It is the second largest waste disposal authority in the country.

The waste disposal costs are split between the 7 boroughs through a levying system. The system is worked out based mostly on the amount of waste disposed (in tonnes), which means the more each borough delivers to NLWA, the more it has to pay."