Update: 9th February 2017
Today, Labour, Tory and Lib Dem Councillors voted to APPROVE the incinerator at Keighley.
Green Party spokesman Matt Edwards said: “This is bad news for the people living in the Aire Valley. There is already a crisis in air quality across Bradford District and this scheme is going to make things worse”.
“It is also proof that we need Green voices on our councils”.
Air pollution has been linked to cancer, lung disease, higher levels of infant mortality and, more recently, dementia.
To keep up to date with the campaign to halt the construction of the incinerator follow the Aire Valley Against Incineration Facebook Page.
Original Article:
Green Party call on Bradford Council to put local people first and refuse plans for ‘dirty’ Aire Valley incinerator.
Bradford Green Party have renewed calls for Bradford Council planning officers to refuse the new plans to build an incinerator on the derelict former gasworks site alongside the Aire Valley road.
The scheme in Keighley will see the construction of a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Energy Plant where waste is burned to convert the material into energy, ash and gasses which is then used to generate electricity.
The Green Party has criticised the Tory Government backed expansion of incinerators as unnecessary and for putting the profits of big businesses before the health of local residents.
As rates of recycling increase, there is a drop in non-recyclable waste that can be burnt. This often means ‘green’ incinerators actually burn waste that can be recycled.
Councillor Hawarun Hussain (Shipley) has said “It doesn’t seem logical the Council Planning Panel is being asked to give the go ahead for an incinerator – It feels like going back 20-30 years in terms of where we as a nation have progressed to.”
“Links to adverse health in our district as a result of pollution have already identified by the Bradford Air Quality Strategy, and the Born in Bradford research project.”
She also points to various studies which show that areas that either have incinerators or have incinerators nearby have higher rates for cancer and respiratory disorders as well as higher infant mortality rates.
Data from the Office of National Statistics shows that nine of the ten councils with highest rates of infant death rates either had an incinerator, or were adjacent to a council with an incinerator.
The information is that concerning that Public Health England has commissioned a wide-ranging set of studies looking into the potential impacts of UK waste incinerator emissions on human health which is scheduled to be published later this year.
In 2000, the US Environmental Protection Agency released a report linking dioxins, the highly toxic chemicals produced by waste incineration as one of the main causes of Cancer.
Despite this evidence the Tory government has argued that the significant impact on local health were less important than the “need” for incinerators.
The Conservative MP for Keighley, Kris Hopkins has spoken in favour of the plans as has the John Grogan from the Labour Party who described the scheme as a form of renewable energy.
Matt Edwards, Green Party spokesperson added “This scheme is not renewable energy. Nothing about it is clean or green – it is a dirty form of energy production which releases harmful chemicals in to the air. It does not benefit the local community. “
The Green Party has been calling out for investment in “real green energy” where local communities can generate and supply their own energy needs through safe and sustainable renewable energy schemes.
Community-based schemes benefit local people with lower electricity bills without the detrimental health benefits. The profits can be used to benefit the local area rather than being siphoned off to tax havens and shareholder dividends.
Planning permission has already been given for the plant and preparatory work is set to start at the site, however an application is being submitted to Bradford Council to amend the existing plans.
Please object to the plans here (the Portal is offline until 21st September) so please email objections to carole.howarth@bradford.gov.uk. There is also a petition.
For more information go to the Aire Valley Against Incineration Facebook Page.