A COUNCILLOR has hit out at the building of an incinerator on Stourport Road in Kidderminster.
Coun Vicky Caulfield, who represents the Green Party in Blakebrook and Habberley South, expressed concerns amidst work starting on the access road to the site and vegetation being cut back.
Power Generation Midlands (PGM) was granted planning permission by Worcestershire County Council back in 2021 for an ‘energy and resource park’ on land next to Liberty Aluminium foundry off Stourport Road.
On its website, PGM said the energy centre would take around 75,000tonnes a year of commercial and industrial waste left after recycling from the local area.
The waste would be used as a fuel to generate low carbon electricity and heat which could be used to power local businesses including the nextdoor Liberty Aluminium foundry. Some of the electricity and heat would also be used to power the Plastics Recovery Plant.
PGM also claims it could enable the foundry to expand, creating 100 jobs.
Angered by work starting
Coun Caulfield said – after long periods of inaction and towards the end of the three-year expiration date of the planning permission – she was angry work had now started.
“Waste incineration facilities bring traffic, smell, noise and air pollution.
“The air pollution includes particulates and dioxins which stay in the soil and food chain and can even cause genetic harm to humans and wildlife in future generations.”
She questioned how environmentally friendly the scheme was, saying burning materials and increasing CO2 would add to global warming.
And she questioned whether the incinerator project will ever be completed as some – in other parts of the country – had been cancelled mid-build.
Alternative solutions needed
She said the country needed to produce less waste and focus more on renewable forms of energy, with a strong emphasis of source-separated recycling and composting.
“What’s needed is a policy of ‘zero waste’ plus a ‘circular economy’ where materials circulate at their highest value for as long as possible, for example through repair and reuse.
“After that, there can be higher resource recovery rates through a strong emphasis on source-separated recycling and composting.
“Instead, incineration is a linear process where materials are lost forever, and the ash remains are hazardous waste.”
The Standard contacted Power Generation Midlands for a response but it has declined to comment at this time.
