Millions of tons of plastic waste incinerated for energy... and then labelled as 'green'!
Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are being incinerated to generate electricity and branded 'green energy'. These power plants produce on average more carbon dioxide (CO2) than the gas-fired equivalents and the worst generate even more than those fuelled by coal, research has revealed. Critics say burning plastic, a lot of which is collected by councils from households, adds to , and have branded the practice 'landfill in the sky'. Figures show the UK's 57 incinerators emitted more than 14million tonnes of CO2 last year, with about half of this coming from burning plastics, much of which could have been recycled. The other half is from materials such as paper, wood and food waste, which can be described as renewable because trees and crops are planted to replace them. But many waste companies still imply in their public statements that all the electricity produced by incinerators, including from burning plastic, is 'green'. The amount of waste incinerated in the UK has more than doubled in less than a decade, from 6.7million tonnes in 2014 to 15.3million tonnes last year. Recycling has flatlined over the same period. A further 50 incinerators which do not incur the 102 per tonne tax paid on landfill and are often the cheapest option for waste disposal are planned for the UK. Waste firm Grundon, which owns the Lakeside incinerator near Heathrow, says on its website that the plant 'generates 37 megawatts of sustainable power, enough to provide green electricity to 56,000 homes'. But analysis of its Environment Agency submission by the website shows that almost half of this comes from burning plastic and other fossil fuel-based waste, and only about 17MW of the electricity exported to the National Grid could be considered renewable. And the Allington incinerator in Kent emitted 1,195 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour of electricity (g/kWh) exported to the Grid last year, according to analysis of its annual performance report submitted to the Environment Agency. That meant it produced more CO2 than coal plants, which emitted about 960g/kWh, and three times as carbon intensive as gas plants, at 360g/kWh. Plastic can be removed before being burnt in incinerators by installing sorting machines, but waste companies in the UK have declined to invest in them. They are, however, used in Norway, Netherlands and Spain, where they remove more than 80 per cent of the plastic. This also helps tackle the problem of households failing to recycle properly. Tory MP Dr Andrew Murrison, who has campaigned for new incinerators to be blocked, said: 'Burning waste is simply consigning it to the great landfill in the sky. We should not greenwash incineration by rebadging it as 'energy from waste'.' Piers Forster, a professor of physical climate change, called on incinerator operators 'to be more honest and transparent about the carbon intensity of their operations'. When Jacob Hayler, executive director of trade body the Environmental Services Association, was asked if his members had made misleading claims, he said the waste industry was 'committed to try to decarbonise everything by 2040'.