Dunbar - Viridor seeking to 'import' waste

Incinerator operator wants to bring rubbish from across Scotland to county

Bryan Copland, East Lothian Courier, Published 19 Jan 2012 

(Return to main Dunbar-Viridor page)

WASTE from across central Scotland could be brought to East Lothian to be burned should a controversial bid by Viridor prove successful. 

The waste management firm is seeking to remove a condition contained within planning permission it received from the Scottish Government in December 2010 for a £200 million 'energy from waste' incinerator at Oxwellmains, near Dunbar. 

The condition, one of 17 imposed, specified that waste received and treated at the 300,000-tonne facility must be restricted to municipal (predominantly household) waste and commercial and industrial waste from East Lothian, Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and Edinburgh, as well as commercial and industrial waste from West Lothian. 

The incinerator had initially been rejected by East Lothian Council's planning committee - going against the advice of planning officials - but following an appeal and public inquiry, a Scottish Government reporter gave it the go-ahead. 

Viridor requires written permission from the local authority to remove the condition, which it claims is "artificial". 

Objectors said the move was an "acknowledgement" by Viridor that the plant would not be economically viable, branding the whole proposal "half-baked". 

Martin Grey, Viridor's Scottish communications manager, said: "Viridor is committed to delivering vital zero-waste infrastructure and has been working to discharge planning conditions ahead of commencing development. 

"As part of this, Viridor is seeking to remove the artificial boundary on waste reception, in line with fresh policy from the Scottish Government and SEPA and will shortly begin a 12-week consultation with local stakeholders. 

"The application will seek to normalise waste-reception criteria for the facility which will sustainably manage residual waste from commercial and public sector partners, encompassing central Scotland." 

Councillor Paul McLennan, council leader, has previously said the plant was not needed and that all five authorities were pursuing other options to dispose of their waste. 

Mr Grey added: "Whilst noting the decision of East Lothian Council to use facilities in England and, moving forward, in Falkirk, it is important to recognise a number of procurements are ongoing for which Oxwellmains may offer a solution and that in any case household waste only accounts for 14.5 per cent of all Scottish waste, leaving an enduring and urgent need for this form of 'next generation' infrastructure." 

But Philip Banks, chair of a joint-action group which objected to the plant, criticised the move. 

"This is an issue the objectors to this proposal dealt with from the outset," he said. "Our concern was that it would make Oxwellmains a centre for the importation of waste from all over Scotland and possibly south of the Border. 

"Viridor had its day with the reporter, he's looked at the case carefully and one of the key issues in the public inquiry was the waste stream and how big this was going to be. 

"The lawyers [working] on behalf of the council argued strongly that there wasn't a waste stream from the designated area which would justify the size of the plant, and this was rejected by Viridor. 

"We felt all along they wouldn't have enough waste to justify this plant economically. It would appear that this attempt to change the conditions is an acknowledgement that they don't have a viable economic proposition here. 

"This is a half-baked proposal which should not be allowed to proceed."