OVER 500 activists rallied and marched through the streets of north London on Sunday to stop the development of a polluting incinerator.
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) plans to expand and enlarge the Edmonton incinerator. Currently, seven different North London boroughs send their waste to Edmonton.
But residents say that the pollution and emissions the incinerator pumps out will harm people and the planet. It is estimated that the project could produce around 700,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. Contracts that finalise the plans for the incinerator are due to be signed on Tuesday, but activists say that they’ll keep fighting until the project is stopped.
Activists met outside Edmonton Green station and then blocked and marched down the street. Hundreds of people showed their support for the marchers by taking leaflets and cheering.
Included local residents and members of the Turkish speaking community, with organised such as Day-Mer taking part in a statement they said: “…The new incinerator will be built in a deprived and diverse area, where people are already at higher risk from air pollution. Building an ever bigger incinerator than the existing one is a clear statement of the environmental racism and social injustice the local community has been subjected to for years. Toxic pollution from the new incinerator will cause LIFE-SHORTENING ILLNESSES for local residents…”
Adding “North London has some of the lowest recycling rates in the country. There is huge scope to REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE much more of our black bag waste instead of burning it. The enormous amount of money to be invested in the incinerator should be used to create a modern waste management system.”
Going on to say that “The Mayor of London’s office estimates that London will have 250,000 tonnes of surplus energy-from-waste incineration capacity in the near future. THERE IS NO NEED FOR AN INCINERATOR IN EDMONTON. Nationally the situation is just as grim. Alarmingly, without Government intervention, 50 new incinerators will be in operation in the UK by 2030. This will double the national incineration capacity and lock us into an additional 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.”
