Suffolk: Liberal Democrats condemn plans for incinerator

4.45.21pm GMT Tue 31st Oct 2006

Liberal Democrats have reacted with dismay at the approval of plans to build an incinerator in Suffolk by the Conservative administration of Suffolk County Council.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat and Independent Group on Suffolk County Council, Cllr Kathy Pollard said, "I appreciate that the UK as a whole is facing problems with waste, but incineration is simply not the way to solve the problem. If we build a large incinerator in Suffolk we will need to feed it and this will be a disincentive to recycle waste; inevitably we will reach a point where we have to take waste away from recycling to ensure the incinerator can keep going. The county should be looking to methods such as Mechanical and Biological Treatment and anaerobic digestion of waste, which are a much better long term solution to the problem of waste.

Liberal Democrats will be pushing for the county council to toughen its stance on recycling rates: the county has already met the 2008 target set by the government. We will also be demanding the government puts pressure on all producers to move away from the culture we have in this country which involves layers and layers of packaging. Lastly, we all, as individuals, need to take recycling seriously and see how we, in our daily lives, can help reduce the amount of waste the county and the country produces."