PROSIECT GWYRDD

News that the National Assembly for Wales’ petitions committee have agreed to examine Prosiect Gwyrdd on the request of objectors from all over south east Wales is good news. The committee has decided to examine the scheme which was set up by five councils, including Newport, Monmouthshire, Caerphilly, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Local campaigners against the plan have pointed out that the project directly contradicts the Welsh Government’s policy of having localised facilities, and councils’ ability to choose their own waste technology and management.

The National Assembly petitions committee also needs to examine the Wales waste survey, which as campaigners have pointed out is flawed because it only gave people a stark set of choices for waste disposal bury it or burn it. We, in Wales and elsewhere can do better than that. If we are serious about recycling and sustainability then we need to look at legally preventing the burning of waste that's recyclable, this is something that would encourage actively councils and waste producers to better promote recycling.

ANOTHER SMALL STEP...

Some good news as plans for a £400m energy-from-waste incinerator on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil have been pulled out in the face of serious public opposition, as the campaign against the incinerator has pulled in people from all backgrounds and all communities in Merthyr and Rhymney. Covanta's Brig Y Cwm application was among four proposals initially short-listed by Prosiect Gwyrdd, a consortium of five councils. Covanta has a pretty grim history of breaking environmental regulations in the United States. Five south Wales local authorities are looking for a method of disposing of so-called "residual" or non-recyclable waste. Initially there were four companies chasing the lucrative 25 year contract, but one, Waste Recycling Ltd, pulled out in April 2011 and now Covanta have pulled out of Merthyr. At the moment there are only two proposals remaining, Veolia ES Aurora Ltd which plans an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Bowlease Common, south of the Corus Llanwern Steelworks in Newport. And Viridor Waste Management Ltd who have proposed a merchant Energy from Waste (EfW) with combined heat and power facility at Trident Park, Cardiff.