We are close to a terrible day for North London’s record on the climate emergency and social justice. Please help – all you need to do is call or write to your North London Councillors (and ideally urge friends and neighbours to do the same).

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has decided to go ahead and award the construction contract for the new North London waste incinerator. This would be 30 per cent bigger than the current incinerator in Edmonton and would operate until at least 2060. It will emit 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. The local pollution would add to the appalling air quality in one of the most deprived wards in London, with a population that is 30 per cent black and 60 per cent BAME. 

Yet the NLWA has repeatedly rejected calls to pause the commissioning of the new waste incinerator to consider the best way forward. They developed the plans back in 2013-15, and got government endorsement in 2017, and they have refused to consider all the evidence that it needs to be reconsidered if we are serious about recognising the climate emergency, public health and social and racial injustice. The NLWA in its plans is supported by the seven North London councils: Waltham Forest, Enfield, Haringey, Barnet, Hackney, Islington and Camden.  The NLWA has two members on its Board from each of the seven Councils.

It is essential that they know how strongly residents oppose the plan which needs a pause and review.

So we all need to contact our NLWA Councillor representatives and also our local Ward councillors to urge them to support a pause and review before it’s too late. Please contact them all individually (or they will be tempted not to reply individually) and please find at least another ten friends and neighbours to do the same. Chase the councillors if they do not reply. 

Set out below are some possible points to make in standard texts. You may not agree with it all! Feel free to copy and paste as much as you wish or to write your own emails or messages on social media or just give them a ring!

NLWA Board members and contact details: https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/ourmembers 

Find your ward councillors at: https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors 

North London is on the verge of a terrible mistake. Please help us stop it.

Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now. Twitter: @StopTheRebuild 

Council Tax Strike against the North London/Edmonton Incinerator. Twitter: @NL_incin_CTS

Dear Councillor XXXX

I am writing to object to the plans to rebuild and 30% expansion of the North London waste incinerator which will operate until at least 2060, as you represent XXXX council on the North London Waste Authority.

The new waste incinerator will emit around 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. That’s equivalent to 250,000 diesel cars. It is about ten per cent of the total emissions from North London – just to burn our waste, 60 per cent of which is recyclable. How ludicrous to strive for net zero by 2030 and replace all that greenhouse gas with emissions from the new incinerator.

In addition, the local pollution would add to the appalling air quality in one of the most deprived wards in London, with a population already in poor health, that is 30 per cent black and 60 per cent BAME. There is no way the filters will take out the smallest particles that do so much damage to people’s health and all the refuse trucks will add to the impact. No wonder Black Lives Matters Enfield says it is a case of environmental racism. 

You may say that the 30 per cent expansion is necessary according to the projections drawn up back in 2013-15. But we already know the projections overstated the amount of waste being produced. And there are dramatic changes happening in government policy and business practice which will cut back waste even further. And the NLWA is looking increasingly at importing waste from outside North London because they know the incinerator is too big for our needs. The boss of Acciona, the only company left in the bidding process to build the incinerator, acknowledges that the proposal is much too big. And anyway in the climate emergency it is not enough for authorities to anticipate trends based on past experience – our leaders need to drive our way to a low carbon future. 

We are facing substantial incineration overcapacity. The new incinerator could burn 700,000 tonnes of waste a year but the London Mayor’s office says we are headed towards surplus incineration capacity in London of 950,000 tonnes if the London recycling targets are met. So the planned incinerator is entirely surplus to London’s needs, especially with the new incinerators at Bexley, Basildon and Rivenhall.

The incinerator will cost at least £683 million pounds to build – that’s £340 for every woman, man and child in North London - and the NLWA also identifies a need for £250 million for “risk contingencies”. The cost is now estimated at £1.2 bn so there has already been a huge increase with no public explanation. The NLWA’s money comes from the seven Councils – and the cost will be paid for through our Council Tax or by cutting vital Council services.

We need to reverse direction. As the UK Climate Change Committee says, we need to move away from incineration and landfill and towards reducing waste and increasing recycling. North London’s recycling rate has flatlined for many years, and we are way behind London’s targets. A full-steam-ahead strategy of waste reduction, repair, reuse, rent, repurpose and recycling would be great for good new pubic sector trade-unionised employment and climate jobs apprenticeships as well as the environment

We need to pause the commissioning process and get an independent, expert-led review of the facts and the options to decide the way forward. We need proper consultation across the seven boroughs, inviting enviromental groups and all communities to look at the options and how we can move towards a zero waste circular economy instead of forging ahead with the plan for a 30 per cent expansion of incineration in Edmonton.

I look forward to hearing from you

Name

Postal address (so they know if you live in the borough) 

Dear Councillor xx (add name of Ward councillor – please send a separate email or message to each one).

I was appalled to hear that XXXX’s representatives on the North London Waste Authority voted to award the contract for the redevelopment and 30% expansion of the North London waste incinerator which will operate until at least 2060. Please urge Councillor XXXX and Councillor XXXX to support a pause so we can consider whether it is really necessary. I fear Councillor XXXX and Councillor XXXX  will feel obliged to support the project being pushed through by the North London Waste Authority and I look to my local Ward councillors to exercise independent judgement and speak up for the people and the planet.

The new waste incinerator would push out around 700,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. That’s equivalent to 250,000 diesel cars. It is about ten per cent of the total emissions from North London – just to burn our waste, 60 per cent of which is recyclable. How ludicrous for the Council to strive for net zero by 2030 and replace all that greenhouse gas with emissions from the new incinerator. In addition, the local pollution would add to the appalling air quality in one of the most deprived wards in London, with a population already in poor health, that is 30 per cent black and 60 per cent BAME. There is no way the filters will take out the smallest particles that do so much damage to people’s health and all the refuse trucks will add to the impact. No wonder Black Lives Matters Enfield says it is a case of environmental racism. 

The Waste Authority may say that the 30 per cent expansion is necessary according to the projections drawn up back in 2013-15. But we already know the projections overstated the amount of waste being produced. And there are dramatic changes happening in government policy and business practice which will cut back waste even further. And the NLWA is looking increasingly at importing waste from outside North London because they know the incinerator is too big for our needs. The boss of Acciona, the only company left in the bidding process to build the incinerator, acknowledges that the proposal is much too big. And anyway in the climate emergency it is not enough for authorities to anticipate trends based on past experience – our leaders need to drive our way to a low carbon future. 

We are facing substantial incineration overcapacity. The new incinerator could burn 700,000 tonnes of waste a year but the London Mayor’s office says we are headed towards surplus incineration capacity in London of 950,000 tonnes if the London recycling targets are met. So the planned incinerator is entirely surplus to London’s needs, especially with the new incinerators at Bexley, Basildon and Rivenhall.

The incinerator will cost at least £683 million pounds to build – that’s £340 for every woman, man and child in North London - and the NLWA also identifies a need for £250 million for “risk contingencies”. The NLWA’s money comes from the seven Councils – and the cost will be paid for through our Council Tax or by cutting vital Council services.

We need to reverse direction. As the UK Climate Change Committee says, we need to move away from incineration and landfill and towards reducing waste and increasing recycling. North London’s recycling rate has flatlined for many years, and we are way behind London’s targets. A full-steam-ahead strategy of waste reduction, repair, reuse, rent, repurpose and recycling would be great for good new pubic sector trade-unionised employment and climate jobs apprenticeships as well as the environment.

We need to pause the commissioning process and get an independent, expert-led review of the facts and the options to decide the way forward. We need proper consultation across the seven boroughs, inviting enviromental groups and all communities to look at the options and how we can move towards a zero waste circular economy input instead of forging ahead with the plan for a 30 per cent expansion of incineration in Edmonton.

Please, assure me that you will try to persuade Councillor XXXX and Councillor XXXX to support a pause and review of the project.

I look forward to hearing from you

Name

Postal address (so they know if you live in their Ward)