Existing Edmonton incinerator

• MANY people in Islington and other parts of north east London are seriously worried about the huge new waste incinerator planned for Edmonton.

The North London Waste Authority, which processes almost all the rubbish from Islington and six other local boroughs wants to spend £1.2billion on building this giant next to the existing incinerator which has been there since 1971.

Burning waste had a role in the past but it’s time to phase it out now.

Although the proposed incinerator may generate enough power for 127,000 homes, it will cause much more pollution than new clean electricity from wind or solar power.

Burning waste not only produces lots of carbon dioxide but also particulates and chemicals such as dioxins; and this plant won’t have carbon-capture technology, meaning that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 will be released every year.

Instead of burning waste we should be recycling and promoting a move to a circular economy. Unfortunately, the waste authority has fallen far short of its targets for recycling.

It has also failed to provide up-to-date figures to make the case for the new incinerator, which would be able to burn up to 700,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

If they do catch up with their recycling targets, will there be enough waste to keep it going?

What we should all be asking for, as voters and citizens in north east London, is for the case for building this 700,000-tonne giant to be made properly. The world is changing fast but the incinerator will not be in operation until 2027 at the earliest.

With much more clean power and recycling by then I believe it would be a white elephant.

I shall be calling for a proper review of the incinerator project in my campaign as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North East London at the London Assembly elections on May 6.

All of us who live here will be affected by this vital decision. I believe the evidence will show we will be better off without the “Edmonton elephant”.

KATE POTHALINGAM
Liberal Democrat
London Assembly Candidate for North East
(Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest)