PRESS RELEASE Development Control Committee misled over incinerator application, Friday 11 November 2011

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On 19 October, the Development Control Committee of Perth and Kinross Council gave planning permission for SITA UK to change the design of its proposed waste incinerator at Binn Farm. Instead of conventional incineration, the company will now use a form of incineration known as gasification.

Addressing the Committee, SITA’s representative Anne-Marie Wilshaw explained why the company had not chosen gasification back in 2006, when it first received planning consent for an incinerator at Binn Farm. 

"We weren't, at the time, able to back any gasification technology but, since then, we have been looking into it”, she said. 

"We now put our name to this type of technology and have developed it elsewhere in the country, namely in Surrey. I would say, for SITA to actually put their name to that technology means we have every confidence in its safety and deliverability." 

This all sounded very convincing, and so it is perhaps understandable that the Committee unanimously approved the company’s application to change from conventional incineration to gasification. 

However, when environmental campaigners in Surrey heard about Ms Wilshaw’s statements, they decided to contact us. It seems that developments in Surrey have not made as much headway as Ms Wilshaw appeared to suggest. 

Firstly, SITA has not developed a gasification incinerator in Surrey – at least not beyond the design stage. It has merely applied for planning consent for such a plant, which, if approved, would form part of the company’s plans for an ‘eco park’ in Spelthorne. The Secretary of State is currently considering the application. 

Secondly, SITA has been making similarly misleading statements in Surrey. Last week the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld 3 out of 5 complaints by a member of Spelthorne against the Eco Park (SATEP) with regard to the company’s newsletter distributed to local residents.[i]  In particular, the newsletter suggests the proposed plant would use “proven” technology, which was being used successfully in Dumfries and Iceland. 

The ASA found this claim to be misleading, as “…the plants are not like for like in terms of input waste, output levels and emissions and because the reference plants have both experienced issues with successful operation.”[ii] 

The findings of the ASA vindicate the view expressed by Ann Sangster of Abernethy Community Council, who called on the Development Control Committee to delay making a decision until the Dumfries plant had been shown to work. 

Thirdly, we would refer Perth and Kinross Council to a document published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change in October 2011, which describes gasification as: 

“. . . emerging and unproven technologies for the treatment of waste biomass and mixed municipal waste where there are number of technical issues to resolve, for example, achieving intended throughput and air emission standards.”  [iii] 

In summary, we believe that the statements made by SITA to the Development Control Committee of Perth and Kinross Council were at the very least ambiguous and were clearly open to misinterpretation. 

Therefore we ask the Committee to review its decision, with a view to rescinding it, and possibly with a view to asking Scottish Ministers to call it in for their consideration. Local people should not be used as guinea pigs for an experimental plant, potentially producing extremely hazardous emissions. 

We also call on Scottish Ministers to call in the recent decision by South Lanarkshire Council to give planning permission for a similar plant in Dovesdale, near Stonehouse. Clearly the technology is not proven, as recent statements by SITA imply. 

In the end, SITA’s shift from conventional incineration to gasification has nothing to do with a quest for better technology. In fact the Dumfries plant referred to by SITA has been an environmental disaster, breaching emission limits hundreds of times.[iv]

The company is motivated simply by the fact that subsidies in the form of Renewables Obligations Certificates are four times higher for gasification.[v] These subsidies are paid by you and me via our electricity bills. 

Contact:

Michael Gallagher, Secretary

Green Alternatives to Incineration in Scotland

33 Precinct Street

Coupar Angus

Perthshire

PH13 9DG

Tel/fax 01828 627124

Email: contact@gainscotland.org.uk