On Thursday 9 December protesters gathered outside Enfield Civic Centre ahead of a Climate Action Scrutiny Panel held by the council.
The protests was one of three planned for the night, with protestors also taking place outside Waltham Forest Council and Haringey Council calling for a stop on the expansion of the Incinerator in Edmonton, North London.
The waste-to-energy incinerator is run by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA), serves seven London local authorities, and is planning to expand to increase its capacity by 200,000 tonnes.
It sits in one of the poorest areas in the country, where 65% of the residents are from ethnic minority backgrounds and air pollution already breaches legal limits.
Members of the Turkish Speaking Community joined together outside with banners and signs, shouting slogans, leaflets were handed out to by protesters while cars passing by showed support with beeps.
Many of the protesters expressed their concern for their children futures and the effects the expansion will have on the community.
Speaking to Londra Gazete, Feyzullah Cinpolat said: “We no longer want our recycling to burn and pollute the air of our children and our communities with toxic, polluting, greenhouse gases. This investment is environmental racism and we must end it now. We don’t want to breathe poison for another 50 years. The garbage incinerators built for profit should be abolished. We urge the local council leader to stop the expansion of the incinerator and review the options available for a more sustainable way that does not pollute the local area. Enlargement needs to be stopped and reviewed immediately.
“There is a longstanding trend of incinerators being built and expanded in the poorest, most deprived areas of the UK. This naturally leads residents and campaigners to ask: why if these incinerators are as safe and harmless as claimed, they are being rejected as viable options in wealthier areas like Cambridgeshire. Companies cannot be trusted to make big claims about the safety of incinerators. Third-party/independent review and research is needed to ensure that appropriate public health and safety measures are in place and that there are truly no risks to the lives of residents.”
