A march against the new waste incinerator planned next to Chingford will proceed through the streets tomorrow Climate activists have spent years opposing […]By Waltham Forest Echo
Activists at a previous protest in August (credit: Extinction Rebellion)
A march against the new waste incinerator planned next to Chingford will proceed through the streets tomorrow
Climate activists have spent years opposing the plan to rebuild the Edmonton incinerator, which would increase its capacity by 200,000 tonnes and make it one of the largest in Europe.
The incinerator is run by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA), which represents seven London councils and is chaired by Waltham Forest Council’s deputy leader, Clyde Loakes.
While Mayor of London Sadiq Khan expressed his opposition to “new incineration in London” in June, Cllr Loakes previously insisted pausing the £1.2billion project is “simply not an option”.
Residents and activists from Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Black Lives Matter and Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now will meet at Edmonton Green at 1pm on Saturday 25th September.
A spokesperson for the march organisers said: “This planned project is unjust and irresponsible. It will lock London into a future of dangerously high carbon emissions and toxic air – or waste precious public money on a white elephant which cannot be used.
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“It will also have a discriminatory impact on poorer, predominantly black and minority ethnic communities who live nearby and will be forced to breathe in the life-threatening toxins for years to come.
“We simply cannot afford this project during a climate and ecological emergency. Incineration is not the only option for waste disposal and it is time for the NLWA to abandon these dangerous plans and look for an approach which is fit for the future.”
Responding to criticisms of the project at an NLWA meeting last June, Cllr Loakes has said: “Our existing energy-from-waste plant is among the oldest in Europe. We need to build a modern replacement facility now or risk residents’ waste being sent to landfill.
“We have looked at the alternatives countless times. The offer that we currently have on the table is the best solution going forward with what we know now.
“We are building what will be one of the most sophisticated energy from waste plants in the UK, if not Europe. We are following what very green and environmentally friendly European countries are doing.”
The protest will march through the streets, led by drummers, to the site of the incinerator in Advent Way, about half an hour’s walk away and just over the border from Chingford.
Among activists’ demands are an immediate stop to the project, as well as a commitment to phase out incineration and focus on recycling waste.
The existing incinerator was built in 1969 and NLWA hopes to begin construction on its replacement by summer next year at the latest.
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