Embrace waste-to-energy plants as renewable and forget the notion of 'incineration', says South West MEP Giles Chichester

Thinking of ‘billowing clouds of black smoke’ when you hear about ‘incineration’ is old fashioned and negative, says South West MEP Giles Chichester, Conservative Energy Spokesman in the European Parliament, who will be presiding over the debate on energy from waste in the European Parliament next month. Instead, think of all the renewable energy that can be produced. Over to you Giles…

Next month, I shall be presiding over a debate in the European Parliament on the subject of energy from waste. The presentation by the European Waste to Energy Association (EWEA) should serve to remind us how sensible and useful it is to convert our non-recyclable domestic waste into energy.

The waste-to-energy process is an important source of renewable energy. It kills two birds with one stone by dealing with waste we are no longer allowed to send to land fill by turning this rubbish into energy, usually electricity or district heating. A win-win situation.

Yet at the first hint of a planning application for a waste-to-energy plant, people are up in arms in opposition. They have an old-fashioned mental image, prompted by the word ‘incineration’, of billowing clouds of black smoke and smut everywhere. We need to break away from this negativism and embrace modern technology.

I have had the opportunity of seeing waste-to-energy or energy-from-waste plants in operation in Europe, in places as far apart as Vienna in Austria and Linkoping in Sweden. They are clean and virtually emission free. It is a pity that those objecting to plans for waste-to-energy plants in the South West cannot see for themselves the effectiveness of this renewable energy process. The sooner we can build a plant here in the South West utilising the latest technologies the better. Let’s get on with it and show the world that we are at long last beginning to develop a viable renewable energy programme.

Giles Chichester MEP
Conservative MEP for South West England and Gibraltar
And Conservative Energy Spokesman in the European Parliament

(image: Spittelau waste to energy plant provides district heating in Vienna. Image credit:Wikipedia, via TreeHugger)

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