Hornsey Street pedestrian drop-off area
North London Waste Authority has issued the following statement in response to today's BBC news piece on the environmental impact of energy-from-waste facilities.
“The BBC coverage highlights the urgent need for systemic change to stop the harmful volume of waste this country produces. That is why our aim is to preserve resources and the environment for future generations by prioritising reduction, reuse and repair.
“Not everything can be recycled and councils need a solution to deal with the waste being produced. A modern, efficient energy recovery facility involves the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of all available options – with the BBC article failing to identify a suitable alternative to landfill. Electricity is a valuable by-product of energy-from-waste plants, but their main purpose is to provide the least carbon polluting solution to a serious waste problem.
“Our new Edmonton EcoPark will maximise the energy created by including sustainable heat, which is essential for a net-zero carbon economy. The flexible capacity of the new publicly-owned facility means that it can still run effectively on lower tonnages, ensuring it does not undermine our innovative waste reduction efforts such as pioneering mattress, polystyrene and hard plastic recycling schemes.
“Ultimately, we need to focus on solutions to put an end to unnecessary waste, in particular plastic. This starts with the urgent implementation of initiatives such as the Deposit Return Scheme and widening the scope of Extended Producer Responsibility. Government and businesses must recognise the link between unsustainable consumption, the waste it generates, and its consequences for the climate emergency.”
