What they said, and what I heard...

PUBLIC QUESTIONS AT CROYDON COUNCIL MEETING: MONDAY 30 JANUARY 2012

Question:- People in Croydon feel that they have been excluded from the South London Waste Plan consultation process. When will the Council begin to genuinely consult with the residents of this borough to see whether or not they wish to have an incinerator?

Reply:- As part of the planning application to be submitted by Viridor to the London Borough of Sutton, residents will have the opportunity to send their comments to Sutton Council for their consideration.

Croydon Council will not be asking residents if they wish to have an incinerator.


Question:- Incineration breaks down objects into dust size particles that may be more difficult to contain by filtration processes. Has the Council taken the creation of these nano particles in the incineration process into consideration in agreeing to build an incinerator? Could you explain the basis for this decision?

Reply:- Viridor will be required to submit as part of their planning application an Environmental Impactment Assessment which will be considered by the London Borough of Sutton. In addition the Environment Agency will be consulted on the proposed facility.

Croydon Council have not considered the filtration of nano particles.


Question:- In 2009 the Cllr Thomas said, "What we have agreed is that the South London Waste Plan (SLWP) will not have any of the things we call incinerators." Local authority web site Lets Recycle describes the planned plant as an incinerator. Was he misadvised or did he mislead Croydon’s residents?

Reply:- The proposed facility by Viridor is defined by the Waste Industry as an Energy Recovery Facility.


Croydon Council are not calling it an incinerator.


Question:- I am concerned to what extent the health effects of an incinerator built on the Sutton Croydon border have been investigated. In particular I would like to know which academic literature on the health effects of incineration has been examined by the Croydon Council officers and Councillors.

Reply:- Viridor will be required to submit as part of their planning application an Environmental Impartment Assessment which will be considered by the London Borough of Sutton as part of the planning process. In addition the Environment Agency will be consulted on the proposed facility.

Croydon Council have not examined the health effects of incineration.


Question:- Why does the Council persist in referring to the incinerator as an Energy Recovery Facility when the overriding aim of the £200 million plan is clearly to reduce the amount of waste by burning it? The Council should be open about its intentions, and not hide behind words.

Reply:- The waste treatment facility proposed by Viridor will be an energy recovery facility with opportunity for export of electricity generated through the treatment process on to the National Grid. Modern energy from waste facilities such as the facility proposed by Viridor, use tried and tested technology and are subject to stringent European and UK legislation. The ERF would have an extensive air pollution control system to clean the combustion gases to comply with regulatory emission limits before they are released through a chimney. The plant would only operate under an Environmental Permit issued and regulated by the Environment Agency. Permit conditions would ensure that local air quality was not compromised.


A lot of waffle to avoid admitting that it will incinerate waste.


Question:- As a resident of West Thornton Ward, Thornton Heath, I have concerns regarding the proposal for an Incinerator on the Croydon/Sutton border. Will the Croydon residents most likely to be affected by the incineration actually be able to have a direct say in whether an incinerator is built?

Reply:- As part of the planning application to be submitted by Viridor to the London Borough of Sutton, residents will have the opportunity to send their comments to Sutton Council for their consideration. They will be starting a series of public consultation from February 2012.


Talk to Sutton Council.


Question:- I understand that in 2009 the city of San Francisco managed to divert 72% of all recyclable material from Landfill. Their goal was 75% by 2010 and zero waste by 2020.  Is Croydon Council not wasting money on an unnecessary and expensive incinerator instead of boosting recycling/composting rates?

Reply:- Croydon has invested significantly during the past three years specifically to improve the recycling facilities throughout the borough. As a result the Council now recycles or composts over 33% of all of its household waste. With the recent changes to the kerbside recycling and landfill bin collection services, the Council are hopeful that subject to continued support from its residents, to achieve around 46% recycling rate by 2013. Despite all this investment there will still be over 54% of the borough’s waste that will be sent to landfill. The proposed energy recovery facility will significantly reduce the amount of household waste which needs to be landfilled.

‘significantly reduce’ - how much of Croydon’s waste will still need to go to landfill?


Question:- Would the Council acknowledge that the Croydon electorate were misled by the leaflet entitled ‘Our promise. There will be no incinerator in Croydon?

Reply:- No you were not misled; there will be no incinerator in Croydon. The proposed location of the Energy Recovery Facility is Beddington Lane which is in the London Borough of Sutton.

LOL!


Question:- What studies have been carried out on the environmental impact on Croydon residents of the extra lorry movements in transporting waste to the incinerator in Beddington?

Reply:- Viridor as part of their Planning Application will be required to submit their Environmental Impact Assessment which will include a review of transport movements for the new facility as a comparison to the existing traffic movements for the landfill site.

Croydon Council have not carried out any studies on the impact of extra traffic.


Question:- Does the Council have any plans to reduce the Council Tax in wards nearest to the incinerator?

Reply:- Thank you for this question. Viridor proposals are subject to review through the London Borough of Sutton’s planning process and the scrutiny of the Environment Agency. If the Viridor proposals were agreed through these process the Executive  Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services confirms that the impact of the changes proposed would not allow the Council to reduce council tax. The Council’s discretion to reduce council tax is clearly set out in the Council Tax Regulations.

No reduction in Council Tax.


Question:- Please could the Council make public a detailed breakdown of the £990 million SLWP contract showing the costs associated with landfill charges, incinerator construction, incinerator operation, waste collection and recycling?

Reply:- The South London Waste Partnership are bound by strict commercial and legal obligations preventing us from releasing any further details about either of the bidders’ solutions. The strict procurement rules and the procurement process have placed restrictions on what information the Partnership can share with residents regarding the proposed solution from Viridor. The need to address the cost of disposing of waste to landfill is an urgent one. This cost has and will continue to increase with Landfill Tax which is due to increase to £80 per tonne by April 2014 and in addition the landfill gate fee will also continue to increase year on year.

Croydon Council will not be making public the costs associated with the incinerator.


Question:- According to the 4th Report of the British Society for Ecological Medicine the ‘foetus, infant and child are most at risk from incinerator emissions’. Why is Croydon Council ignoring the rights of Croydon children by agreeing to build an incinerator?

Reply:- Modern energy from waste facilities such as the facility proposed by Viridor, use tried and tested technology and are subject to stringent European and UK legislation. The ERF would have an extensive air pollution control system to clean the combustion gases to comply with regulatory emission limits before they are released through a chimney. The plant would only operate under an Environmental Permit issued and regulated by the Environment Agency. Permit conditions would ensure that local air quality was not compromised.

Croydon Council are assuming that there will be no harmful emissions from the incinerator, so do not need to consider the effects on children.


Question:- Has the Council taken into consideration that an incinerator built on the Croydon Sutton border will have a disproportionate affect on lower income parts of Croydon?

Reply:- I am unaware of any studies that support your perception. The new facility whilst being constructed will offer employment opportunities, and once the Energy Recovery Facility is built there will be over 40 people employed to operate the facility.

A very small number of jobs will be created and Croydon Council hope that residents will think that locals will get them.


Question:- If the Council were to become persuaded that the release of toxic nano particles, during the incineration process, presented serious health risks, would the Council still be contractually bound to continue with incineration?

Reply:- Viridor will be required to submit as part of their planning application an Environmental Impartment Assessment which will be considered by the London Borough of Sutton as part of the planning process. Modern energy from waste facilities such as the facility proposed by Viridor, use tried and tested technology and are subject to stringent European and UK legislation. The ERF would have an extensive air pollution control system to clean the combustion gases to comply with regulatory emission limits before they are released through a chimney. The plant would only operate under an Environmental Permit issued and regulated by the Environment Agency. Permit conditions would ensure that local air quality was not compromised.

Croydon Council are assuming that there will be no harmful emissions from the incinerator, so do not need to consider if they could stop incineration.


Question:- Is the SLWP able to affect the final decision on the type of incinerator chosen by Viridor? Will the final design be based purely on commercial criteria or will it consider the latest, more expensive technologies such as the safer Anaerobic Digestion systems  currently being developed and used in Belgium?

Reply:- Viridor is an experienced waste management company who have experience of building Energy Recovery Facilities. The final design will meet with the requirements of the South London Waste Partnership whereby modern energy from waste facilities such as the facility proposed by Viridor, will use tried and tested technology and will be subject to stringent European and UK legislation.

Alternatives are not being considered.


Question:- Following the news that Croydon University Hospital has had to make a payment to Burger King to terminate their contract, what compensation is due to Viridor if the contract for the £200 million incinerator is terminated?

Reply:- The South London Waste Partnership are bound by strict commercial and legal obligations preventing us from releasing any further details about either of the bidders’ solutions.

Croydon Council can’t tell us how much compensation they would have to pay to Viridor if the contract was terminated.


Question:- Have Croydon residents living nearest to the incinerator site been advised by the Council that property prices are likely to be lowered by the proximity to an incineration plant? If they have not been informed of this consequence of building an incinerator, when will the Council inform them?

Reply:- Viridor as part of their Planning Application will be consulting with residents regarding the energy recovery facility proposed for Beddington Lane, Sutton. The evidence regarding consultation with residents will be considered by the London Borough of Sutton as part of their planning process.

Croydon Council will not be informing residents that property prices are likely to fall.



http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/documents/meetings/548170/691212/691218/1160708/2012-01-30pq/