Reports that Pembrokeshire County Council is seriously considering incineration as a solution to the county's waste problem have triggered a strong response from Friends of the Earth. The group says that environmentally friendlier and cheaper options are available. The Pembrokeshire branch of Friends of the Earth has written to the county council urging it to reject energy from waste incineration and to look instead at more modern methods of dealing with waste, such as Mechanical Biological Treatment, that maximise recycling and re-use, and significantly cut the amount of waste going to landfill. Energy campaigner for Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, Gordon James, said: "We believe that incineration should be one of the last options considered and that other methods of dealing with our waste are better for the environment, cost less and create more jobs. We are also surprised that the county council is already looking at this option when a great deal more needs to be done to improve Pembrokeshire's relatively poor recycling and composting rate." Friends of the Earth point out that Pembrokeshire lies 15th in the recycling league of 22 Welsh local authorities. Figures for 2005/06 show that the county recycles or composts around 21 per cent of its municipal waste compared to 36 per cent in neighbouring Ceredigion, 35 per cent in Powys and 28 per cent in Swansea, Caerphilly and Monmouth. The group believes that incineration can be seen as an opt out by local authorities that are struggling to achieve adequate recycling rates Gordon James continued: "We oppose incineration because it wastes natural resources; it undermines recycling by demanding a steady stream of combustible waste; it worsens climate change; and it causes pollution from air emissions and toxic ash. It is not surprising that incineration proposals are often strongly opposed by neighbouring communities. "We also do not believe that an incinerator would meet the requirements for sustainability as laid out in Welsh Assembly Government policy. This states that all measures should have been taken to exhaust the possibilities of waste reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery of materials before incineration is considered. "Incineration goes against this waste hierarchy as it depends upon a steady supply of waste for fuel. This removes the incentive to reduce waste as it places the emphasis on providing enough waste to keep the incinerator going. There have been instances where local authorities have been fined by incinerator operators for failing to produce enough waste for the incinerator." Climate change is also put forward as a reason for opposing incineration. A study, commissioned last year by Friends of the Earth, showed that energy from waste incinerators produced 33 per cent more carbon dioxide per unit of energy generated than gas-fired power stations. And, according to the group, although the emission of pollutants has declined in recent years, concerns about health impacts remain. The best waste option in climate change terms was found to be a system known as Mechanical Biological Treatment. This maximises recycling and re-use, and converts material into useful products like compost. According to Friends of the Earth, these systems are operating on the continent and being developed in a number of local authority areas in England . Gordon James continued: "These modern waste treatment systems are specifically designed to enable local authorities to divert waste from landfill and to avoid the fines levied for exceeding the landfill limit. They have less environmental impact than incinerators, are cheaper to run and quicker to set up. It is also well-known that recycling creates more jobs than incineration. This ought to be an important consideration in Pembrokeshire. "Unfortunately, the impression being given is that Pembrokeshire is seriously considering going down the incineration route well before it has implemented the full potential of recycling and before it has given adequate consideration to other options. We believe that these more modern systems can offer solutions to the county's waste problem that are environmentally and economically preferable to incineration." Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth has asked to meet county council officials to discuss all the options for dealing with municipal waste and have also asked the council to host a presentation of modern biological and mechanical treatment systems. When contacted by the Observer, Pembrokeshire County Council had not yet received the letter.
