Don't Incinerate | North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council want to give the go-ahead to a private contractor, AmeyCespa, to build and run a major industrial waste management facility, including a large incinerator, to dispose of domestic waste on a single site.

We believe it isn’t needed, it’s out of date and it’s a waste of our money.

It will cost an estimated £900 million over 25 years (to be paid by us – North Yorkshire's rate-payers), and it will tie the county into an outdated technology. The mechanical sorting and anaerobic digester planned for the site will only deal with a small portion of the waste going there – the majority will be burnt in the incinerator, so there will more greenhouse gas emissions.

The Councils have not properly considered any alternatives such as rapidly ramping up the recycling rate, reducing waste, more composting, or smaller multi-site facilities. North Yorkshire is planning to slowly ramp up to 50% recycling in 10 years time – South Oxfordshire is at 70% now!

In October 2010, both Councils will be asked to vote the plan through. This is an opportunity to rethink: Councillors should oppose the plan and seek a thorough review of a wider range of innovative solutions to waste management, including more varied options beyond large-scale incineration. At a time of deep Government spending cuts across the public sector, it would be simply irresponsible to continue with the current plans.

Sign the online petition to show your support for this campaign.