HC Deb 07 November 2002 vol 392 cc714-5W
Dr. Whitehead

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste incinerators are planned by waste disposal authorities; what the capacity is of each incinerator planned; and what information she collates on the contractual arrangements for waste disposal. [77745]

Mr. Meacher

There are at present 14 municipal solid waste incinerators in the whole of the UK, two of which are in Scotland. Details of facilities where planning applications are determined by local planning authorities are not held centrally.

There are many hundreds of other incinerators for-sewage sludge, hazardous waste, clinical waste, production waste from factories etc. In England and Wales, the larger plant generally is regulated by the Environment Agency and details of their locations are available on the Environment Agency's public register. Other plant that is part of another process regulated by the Agency may not be shown separately on the register. Smaller plant is regulated by local authorities. In Scotland, all such plant are regulated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

A new plant will need planning permission to start construction and a PPC permit to start operations. The table gives the number and status, as at 21 August 2002, of new municipal waste incineration plants in England and Wales. The table contains information shared with the Environment Agency by prospective applicants for pollution control permits. There may also be other planning applications or amendments which have been submitted to local authorities over which the Agency has not been consulted. The planning status may have been changed since the data were supplied.

The Department does not routinely collect information on contractual arrangements for waste disposal. It is the responsibility of waste disposal authorities to make appropriate contractual arrangements with respect to their requirements for waste disposal.

Operator Location Size: t/yr Planning status Permit status
progress
Kent Enviropower Maidstone, Kent 500,000 Granted PPC permit being determined
Riverside Resource Recovery Belvedere, London 500,000 Refused IPC authorised
Shanks Milton Keynes 353,000 Application submitted PPC application to be submitted if planning permission granted
Onyx Sheffield 225,000 Application submitted PPC application determined
Sita Ridham Dock, Kent 200,000 Subject to a planning appeal No application
County Environment Services Roche, Cornwall 64,000 Application submitted No application

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