'Pinkham Way Alliance' raises possibility of 'mission creep'

"The NLWA is not very happy about the Alliance describing the proposed Pinkham Way development, if built, as being 'one of the largest MBT sites in Europe'. The NLWA, at its recent board meeting, suggested there were bigger sites.

In the spirit of myth-busting, we would be grateful if the NLWA could pass on that information to us. There is an MBT site already in London, and there is one in West Sussex that will be bigger, but it is not in operation yet.

Frog Island, London

Location: Ferry Lane, Rainham, London RM13 9YH

Opened in 2007, the Frog Island MBT was commissioned to process 180,000 tonnes of waste a year from the boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge. An incinerator is now being added. The site is located in an industrial area. [See previous report on MBT and Frog Island.]

Link to Biffa web site

Brookhurst Wood, West Sussex

Location: Langhurstwood Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 4QD

Expected to open in 2013, the Brookhurst Wood MBT was commissioned to process 327,000 tonnes of waste a year from West Sussex County Council. The Council have signed a 25 year contract with Biffa, to operate the site. In their press release dated 30/6/2010, and before waste processing has even begun, Biffa is already talking about the construction of an incinerator on the site. The site is surrounded by fields, more than one kilometre outside the town of Horsham.

Pinkham Way?

To be clear - we are not expecting the NLWA to include an incinerator in their planning proposal to Haringey - but we are understandably wary, because of what has subsequently happened at other sites.

Part of the problem is that the market for 'refuse derived fuel' (RDF) is not very well established, and there is an increasing supply of RDF. [We add: ... and an increasing level of opposition to new incinerators - see UKWIN.]

In these circumstances, where it may become difficult to sell RDF, there is a stronger economic argument for [on-site] incineration. If you would like to read more about MBT, and arguments for and against, 'Friends of the Earth' have published a paper on the subject."