Incinerator is 'vital for future'
A new waste incinerator on the edge of Cannock Chase will not make Staffordshire a dumping ground for the West Midlands, according to council bosses.
A new waste incinerator on the edge of Cannock Chase will not make Staffordshire a dumping ground for the West Midlands, according to council bosses.
Staffordshire County Council's waste chief has defended the authority's plans after coming under fire from a newly created campaign group called SAIN, or Staffordshire Against Incineration. The group argues the proposed incinerator at Four Ashes is unnecessary and that the ash from the rubbish will still have to be put into landfill.
The council claims the new facility, which will handle 300,000 tons of waste each year, is the only way to deal with the county's growing rubbish mountain.
It will generate enough electricity to power 24,000 homes and is a key part of the county council's vision of sending no waste to landfill by 2020.
Ian Benson, the authority's director of waste, said: "The campaigners are motivated by a set of ideals which we entirely sympathise with. In a perfect world it would be great if we could ensure that everyone reduced their waste to an absolute minimum.
"Unfortunately, we have the difficult job of dealing with the reality of a growing population and increasing household waste.
"Currently, Staffordshire does not have enough waste treatment facilities to manage all the household and commercial waste it produces.
"In Staffordshire we send 1.25 million tons of waste a year to other authority areas. We send more waste to other parts of the West Midlands and further afield than any other of our neighbours or partners.
"The proposed facility at Four Ashes would only ever process an absolute maximum of 300,000 tons per year. This is just under a quarter of the county's shortfall, meaning we will still treat significantly less waste than it produces."
He added: "Staffordshire is not an island, and we need to co-operate to ensure we deliver the most cost effective and environmentally acceptable approaches to managing our waste.
"On the issue of environmental pollution, this technology will be state-of-the-art. The technology is tried and tested and Four Ashes will meet rigorous checks to ensure it achieves the highest emissions standards."
