Discussions about building a proposed waste incinerator in Canford were deferred by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s (BCP) planning committee in September 2024. There is no confirmation, yet, about when it may be discussed, but the committee was due to meet on November 7, 2024. On that day, concerned residents, environmental groups, and local organisations came together outside Bournemouth’s Civic Centre, to oppose this proposed development. They were briefly joined by the Mayor of Bournemouth, George Farquhar, who expressed his opposition to the proposed incinerator. This scheme has sparked widespread anger among community members who are committed to protecting the climate, environment, and public health, and who say that granting planning permission for the incinerator could increase our council tax.
Counter to the Circular Economy
The incinerator is due to be considered by our council members at a time when the Environment Secretary has made the circular economy one of his five core priorities, partly by moving to a future where we keep our resources in use for longer and accelerate the path to net zero. October’s Budget also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to move towards a zero-waste economy. This raises questions as to whether the granting of planning permission would be in line with government’s plans for waste management.
The proposed facility, designed to burn waste at high temperatures, raises serious concerns regarding air quality, public health, and environmental sustainability. Community members argue that incineration not only contributes to air pollution but also undermines efforts to promote recycling and waste reduction.
The BBC reported in October 2024 that burning household rubbish in giant incinerators to make electricity is now the dirtiest way the UK generates power, and that their analysis says that energy produced from waste is five times more polluting than the average UK unit of electricity.
Potential liability for increases in BCP Council Tax or a reduction in services
Ralph Doe, retired bookshop owner, Charminster, states that
“The Government’s published plans are to halve residual, non-recyclable, waste by 2042. The Canford Facility has an operational lifetime of approximately 40 years, during which BCP council could be contractually obliged to provide waste to be burnt. The operational lifetime of the incinerator would extend roughly 24 years – depending on when it became operational – beyond the date where our council would, to meet its share of the national government targets, have to halve its own waste.”
This could lead to a situation where our local council has to pay any financial shortfall to the incinerator operator, caused by the council not providing sufficient waste to burn. If this did happen it would likely be financed by an increase in our council tax bills, or a further reduction in council services.
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): additional liability for increases in BCP Council Tax or reduction in services
In 2028, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be expanded to include local government waste that is collected and sent for incineration. Campaigners like Helen Nicol, a health care professional, estimate this could lead to:
“an additional cost to the council of £3 million per year, which would have to be financed by further increases to council taxes or additional local service reductions.”
To explain, using 2022/23 as an example, BCP council collected 85,840 tonnes of waste that was not sent for recycling, just over half of all waste collected. If we assume the Council continues to produce around 85,000 tonnes of waste and sends it all to incineration then we can calculate the possible BCP council ETS liability, which would equate to a potential increase in council tax bills.
There are two main variables to the calculation beyond tonnes of waste incinerated, these are:
These figures change over time and would therefore increase or decrease the below monetary calculation.
If we assume CO2 emissions of one tonne per tonne of waste incinerated this equates to 85,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. We can also assume that only half of this waste would be included in the ETS payments, as the other half would not be fossil based and would not emit CO2. Therefore 42,500 tonnes of fossil CO2 would be covered by the ETS.
A rate of payment of £100 per tonne of fossil CO2 would result in a BCP council liability of £4.25 million. We can assume that 25 per cent of these ETS costs would be passed on to producers through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, leaving approximately an additional £3.1 million BCP tax liability. This would need to be funded through additional increases in council tax or further reductions in council services.
Incinerator Overcapacity and Importing Waste
Campaigners are also concerned about the likelihood of even more overcapacity if permission is granted.Doug Skinner, Chair of Planet Purbeck, said that
“an incinerator has already been granted planning permission at Chapel Lane in Parley which has the capacity of incinerating 60,000 tons of waste per year, with plans to increase this to 105,000 tonnes.
Planning permission has also been granted for an incinerator at Portland with a capacity for 202,000 tonnes of waste to be burnt per year. If the planning application for the Canford incinerator is successful, capacity in Dorset will be increased by a further 260,000 tonnes of waste per year.”
Taking into consideration the UK Government targets to halve non-recyclable waste by 2042, there is a strong prospect that, in order to fulfil contracts with the incinerator operators, BCP and Dorset councils would either have to import non-recyclable waste into the area or pay contract penalties for not providing sufficient waste. This is all happening when, as reported by the BBC, nearly half of the rubbish produced in UK homes, including increasing amounts of plastic, is now being incinerated. Scientists warn it is a “disaster for the climate” – and some are calling for a ban on new incinerators.
The campaign group ‘Stop Portland Waste Incinerator’ has issued a legal challenge against the proposed waste incineration development on the Isle of Portland, which was initially rejected by Dorset Council, claiming it is ‘a speculative scheme in completely the wrong place.’ Even so, Rick Larcombe, a resident of Canford, said
“Building another incinerator is a big step backwards in our fight against climate change. Instead of investing in unsustainable waste management practices, we should be prioritising recycling, composting, and reducing waste at the source. The health of our community and the integrity of our environment should come first.”
The group of concerned locals and seasoned environmental campaigners who have come together to stop the proposed incinerators in Parley and Canford, use the name ‘Stop Parley and Canford Incinerators’. They believe incinerators are a disaster for the environment and for human health and that there are much better and healthier ways of dealing with waste. The group is working with United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), a network of anti-incineration campaigners whose mission is to bring about an end to the incineration of mixed waste.
