There are now 30 Londoners withholding part of their council tax to protest the incinerator rebuild
By Victoria Munro

Louise (right) is one of four new council tax strikers who joined yesterday

The council tax strike against the new incinerator near Chingford has grown in size after a town centre protest.

Local mum Sarah Eastwood kicked off the strike last year, announcing she would withhold £10 a month to “force a proper public debate” about plans to rebuild the Edmonton Incinerator.

She was due to appear before Thames Magistrates’ Court by videolink on 14th February after being prosecuted by Waltham Forest Council, although her case has now been adjourned.

In the meantime her supporters gathered in Walthamstow town centre and have reportedly managed to convince a further four local residents to join the strike.

The protest in Walthamstow town centre (credit: Joanne Moore)

Since she started striking, Sarah said 30 other Londoners have joined her in withholding part of their council tax, including eight others from Waltham Forest.

Louise Krzan, a 43-year-old from Walthamstow who agreed to join this week, said the strike felt like a way to “send another message directly to decision makers… making it clear I do not support what they are doing”.

The decision to rebuild the incinerator is being made by the North London Waste Authority, the organisation in charge of waste for seven boroughs. The NLWA is chaired by Clyde Loakes, the deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council, and its current leader Grace Williams has publicly defended the project.

Louise added: “It feels like a ridiculous situation. The council has declared a public emergency and is apparently determined to boost our recycling rates, which are horrendous.

“I empathise that managing North London’s waste is a really difficult thing to do and there’s a massive problem with single-use plastic, that the government should be banning, but they can’t keep using that as an excuse.

“It’s an emergency, that’s not good enough, and if nobody makes the change then developments in waste management will not happen.”

Speaking to the Echo, Sarah Eastwood said her court hearing had been adjourned to 12th April due to a disagreement as to how much money she owes.

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