Splott residents protest the Cardiff Incinerator's 'draft approval'.

By Shruti Tripathi

From communities on Facebook, to protests outside the Cardiff City Hall, Splott residents are up in arms to oppose the 'draft' approval of the Cardiff waste incinerator. The Environment Agency's draft decision will include a month of public consultation before a final decision.

Capable of converting energy to power fifty thousand homes, the incinerator is being built by Viridor Waste Management who have been given an approval for a waste facility in Trident Park, in the Splott area of the city.

Commenting on the approval, Dan Cooke, External Affairs Manager, Viridor said, “We listened long and hard to the views of local residents, local councillors and politicians and considered a range of views and issues raised in detail in relation to our proposals. This dialogue has been extremely useful and our intended community liaison group will allow us to continue our close contact as the project progresses.

“We are determined to ensure that local benefits are maximised in terms of jobs and related economic benefits. The project should provide an essential service. It is designed to help meet challenging waste management targets and to help businesses and local authorities achieve greater resource efficiency in the Cardiff area.”

While the Environment Agency and Viridor Waste Management see 'no reason' to not build the incinerator, the turnabout in Cardiff Council's decision has not gone down well with people.

'People before Profit'

In an interview with the Fresh Outlook, Splott Lib Dem Coucillor, Gavin Cox, said “The incinerator being built will give a green signal to more than 300 trucks coming to Splott everyday and deliver 350,000 tonnes of waste every year. These issues are being out rightly neglected which is a big reason to worry.”

“The draft does not relate to issues such as traffic, visual impact, operating hours and light pollution, all of which were covered by the planning permission granted by Cardiff council last month.”, added Mr. Cox.

Residents have been fighting the application from Virdior for more than a year. Last June the proposals for the plant on the site of a former copper, iron and steel works were rejected by the local authority.
It is estimated that more than 250 lorries each day will deliver 350,000 tonnes of waste a year to the site.

Speaking to the Fresh Outlook, Raoul Bhambral, Co-ordinator, Cardiff Friends of the Earth, said “The incinerator would not only increase air pollution but also affect residents of Splott who stay a stone's throw away from where the incinerator would be built. Splott is a low-income area and its immoral to put their health at risk.”

Speaking about the risks that are being overlooked, Mr. Bhambral said, “Cardiff Council's consent to the application of the incinerator is paradoxical because incineration has proven to reduce recycling rates. The Council and the taxpayers have spent a lot of time and money to build an efficient recycling process, and the incinerator will definitely cause havoc to it.”

“Viridor seems to have pressurized the Cardiff Council to a public enquiry which forced them to give a go-ahead to the incinerator.”, he added.

Two years ago, there were similar proposals for west Cardiff and every application was refused.

Edmund Schluessel, Member of the Socialist Party, is protesting the incinerator with a mass campaign. Taking stock of the situation, Mr. Schluessel told the Fresh Outlook, “The entire premise of building the incinerator is wrong, it puts people after profit. Waste management is important but there are better options than incineration such as mechanical biological treatment which would serve the purpose without putting lives at risk.”


'PATH FORWARD'

The draft approval of the incinerator has made the protesters campaign vengefully. An organised meeting on is being held in the STAR Leisure Centre, followed by a planned public meeting with the Environment Agency to discuss the draft permit on 30 July at the STAR Leisure Centre.

Mr. Cox is positive that the meeting will help everyone to reach a common ground, “I am going to the Star Centre tonight to motivate people to stick to their guns and protest the circling of lorries and the air, land and water pollution.”said Mr. Cox.

Mr. Schluessel said, “We need to remind the officials to re-examine all data before the incinerator gets the final approval, Viridor's claims of creation of jobs is just propaganda to confuse people. Hopefully, the two meetings will be fruitful for the Stop! The Incinerator campaign.”