EU ‘must examine’ risks of incinerator
Thursday 16th April 2009, 6:00PM BST.
The European Union must be called in to decide whether a £60 million incinerator should be built in Shrewsbury so any potential health risks can be examined, a former borough councillor has claimed.
Dr Maxwell Winchester has called an urgent meeting with MEP Philip Bradbourn and Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski over the plans by waste firm Veolia.
Dr Winchester, the Conservative candidate for Quarry and Coton Hill ward of Shropshire Council, said that new legislation, called the precautionary principle, meant the EU could call in decisions for their potential health risk.
He said: “My understanding of the precautionary principle is that it allows the EU to call in any item that could have long-term health effects and anything that could be risky so there cannot be decisions without knowing what the long-term effects could be.
“I have asked Mr Bradbourn to see if he can ask the EU to call it in and he has offered to talk with Mr Kawczynski and myself.”
Dr Winchester said he wanted the decision about the incinerator to be made by an independent body rather than by councillors at Shropshire Council, which has worked with Veolia on its proposals.
Mr Kawczynski said: “We will leave no stone unturned in our campaign to prevent this from happening and if we can try to get adjudication from the EU, we will proceed with that.”
A spokesman for Veolia Environmental Services said: “It is up to the planning authority to determine this application for Shropshire, based on the facts in the planning application.”
Simon Alton, of Shropshire Council, said: “It is important to stress that Shropshire Council’s planning committee has a completely independent role and will determine the application on its merits, taking into account a wide range of responses from technical bodies and also local people.
“In relation to any referral, the Government Office of the West Midlands has been notified of the application. The normal procedure would be for the government office to wait for the council to complete its assessment of the application before deciding whether it should intervene.”
By Rebecca Lawrence
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We were hoodwinked in the very early stages through generalised questionnaires and then the next thing we know its going ahead. I’m sure there are those who wanted this plan to go through quietly, but we have a voice and we want to be heard. No to the incinerator right on our doorstep. Thank goodness this is being taken further. Good luck
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i agree
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we should not allow this development to proceed because it will undermine our recycling efforts and cause harm human health and as the planning authority i hope they listen to technical bodies like the WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION who say ”there is no safe level of dioxin”
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I welcome this action by Dr Maxwell Winchester.
And I hope that he has strong words with his Conservative colleagues who voted FOR incineration in the European Parliament.
Conservative party policy does not look sustainable on this particular issue at the moment, and needs to be clarified.
What Conservative MEPs voted FOR, Conservative councillors and MPs are dead AGAINST, at least in their own constituencies.
Caroline Jackson MEP (Con) drafted the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, which promotes incineration, and secured the vote for it in the European Parliament with her lobbying.
However, the Financial Times reported on Friday 13 June 2008 that Caroline Jackson received £6,000 from the waste company, Shanks.
To many this seems like a major conflict of interest.
Another colleague of Philip Bradbourn in the European Parliament, Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP (Con), was so confident that incineration was the way forward that he devoted his Shrewsbury Chronicle column on February 22nd 2007 to explaining the EU Waste Framework Directive.
He urged Chronicle readers to see that ‘-after waste-reduction and recycling- incineration is the best solution to dealing with the 534 kilos of household waste, which the average EU citizen discards every year.’
If the Conservative Party has changed its collective mind about incineration and the Maxwell Winchesters of this world are able to influence the direction of the party on incineration, this would be great news for all of us.
Incineration is unpopular with residents ( http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/12/03/mps-survey-reveals-79-against-burner/ ), it raises questions about future legal liability on health grounds, it will undermine recycling and ultimately it will undermine any attempt to get a Shropshire Zero Waste initiative off the ground in the next 27 years.
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WHY INVOLVE THE EU – they are pro-incineration any way as its used all over germany and france to get rid of rubbish – surely it would be more democratic for local people to decide at a local level – perhaps a local referendum ?
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Has anyone, who might be interested in helping get a Shropshire Zero Waste Initiative started, seen the 2-minute BBC news report from Friday, 11 July 2008 by Roger Harrabin about Kamikatsu’s zero-waste intiative?
Kamikatsu is a small community in Japan, which is aiming to be the first Zero Waste community in the world by 2020.
To find the report on the BBC website, just Google ‘Zero Waste Japan’.
What do Shropshire Star readers think of this initiative in practical, sustainable living?
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also the conservatives want to pull out of europe and yet in this case they are suddenly supportative of the EU, make your minds up guys!
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the precautionary principle is just that a principle its not a peice of legislation or a set of regulations, its just a guiding pillar of how environmental and public health laws should be shaped – you could say
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as if they would be interested in such a small local development
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Veolia’s Newhaven/ESCC contract has been called into doubt. Mr Baker and the Lib Dem MEP for the South East, Sharon Bowles, complained to Brussels after the councils extended a contract with Veolia for five years without inviting rival bids.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/4298597.Newhaven_incinerator_s_future_thrown_into_doubt/
In his response to the complaint, EC commissioner Loizos Loizou said the contract did not appear to be lawful. He has written to the Government to request action.
I would be interested if the Veolia contract with Shopshire County council is legal; and has undergone the necessary and fair tendering process.
Usually Contracts are tendered for with an end contract procedure only signed at financial close when procurement, preferred option, planning, permitting have been finalised and signed off; not before.
Mr Baker said: “It is quite possible the councils will have to go back and put the five-year extension out to tender, or the whole contract may have to be dropped.”
Might have Shopshire CC have to follow suite to procure a fair tendering, procurement and contract award process????
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It was good to see the number of comments on this article and my approach to the EU. A couple of responses to comments above:
1. Claire, you may believe you were hoodwinked etc with questionnaires – but the Shropshire Star reported that 79% of residents didn’t want an incinerator in Telford and it is unlikely to be significantly different here.
2. Paul Pen. Completely agree. This has been raised as a major issue at many anti-incinerator meetings and is a concern of mine. We have some of the worst recycling services I’ve come across in this county and there is a lot of improvement yet to come before anyone can sell an idea like an incinerator.
3. Huw, thanks for your (not surprising!) support on this. I disagree with you comments on the Conservatives however, as I think you’ll find differences in opinions and policies at the different governmental levels in any party. I will be raising the issue with the MEP when we meet. At a local level, I don’t need to change the collective mind of the Conservative Party. At the last Borough Council meeting, Cllr Peter Nutting and I tabled a motion to try and convince the West Mid Regional Govt to call in the planning application for the incinerator away from SCC. This was supported by ALL Conservatives, and was voted AGAINST by most number of Labour and Lib Dems. That’s politics for you eh? On your second comment, it’s a great objective, let’s start with supermarkets, plastic bags and packaging!
4. Peter. Daniel Kawczynski MP and I are trying any avenue we can, including the EU. You will get a local referendum – it’s called the Shropshire Council elections on June 4th. So if anyone comes to your doorstep canvassing, ask them whether they are in support or not and then make sure you vote!
5. TT. Surely whether the Conservatives are supportive of Europe or not is immaterial as to whether it is appropriate to utilise a level of govt we are paying taxes for?
6. Paul Evans. Correct, not a piece of legislation as such, but I’m hoping it is possible to use this principle to get the incinerator called in by the EU. The precautionary principle underlines much EU policy and legislation. A simple example on pollution is Article 174 of The EC Treaty, which states: “Community policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay”
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we should all do more recycling to make it redundant
i agree with the doctor about the elections
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make sure you make your councillors aware of your voting intentions people
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Welcome to the discussion, Dr Winchester.
It’s great to have your input, and interesting to hear your views.
I agree with you that there are differences in opinions and policies at the different governmental levels in any party, and feel that this is understandable.
After all, Labour MEPs, too, voted for the Waste Framework Directive, which greenwashes incineration as ‘energy from waste’.
However, when a party uses the slogan, ‘Think Green Vote Blue’, then MEPs of that party should surely bear this in mind when voting on something as ungreen (and a sunpopular with the public) as incineration, shouldn’t they?
Otherwise voters might think twice about the veracity of this claim when casting their vote in the European Elections.
Despite this disagreement with you, I think the debate will be all the better because of your involvement.
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lets stop this thing in its tracks at the elections
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Huw
My experience suggests being pro/contra incineration doesn’t follow party lines, although Conservative county councils back EfW/CHP incineration procurementsslightly more than their Labour urbanites.
Daniel and Dr Winchester rightly have followed the moral highground and growing contra evidence against burner contracts.
The issue divides idealists from pragmatists; engaged thinkers from detatched thinkers; sceptics from optimists; front end dreamers from rear end obsessives.
Its a multi-faceted issue which comes down to morality, ethics, common sense and indeed scientific findings. Some individuals are clear with regards to the malevalence of burning materials; others are less clear.
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the evidence is clear the people of shrewsbury dont want this thing – is anyone listening?
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ITS NOT GOOD FOR HEALTH
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