Green councillors on waste board say they have 'no better option' than building incinerator

The party now controls North London Waste Authority but has not been able to ditch the under-construction incinerator in Edmonton, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Construction of the new incinerator is said to be progressing slowly

Green Party councillors sitting on North London Waste Authority (NLWA) now say they back a controversial new incinerator in Edmonton after inheriting a “poisoned chalice”.

Ahead of the May local elections, Greens across North London said they would explore “every option to cancel” construction of the new incinerator at Edmonton Eco Park, which is costing well over £1billion.

But now that the party has taken over control the North London Waste Authority, following its success at the elections, the Greens say they have been “left with no better options” and the only choice is between building the incinerator “or bankruptcy”.

NLWA is controlled by councillors from Enfield, Haringey, Barnet, Camden, Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest boroughs. It is responsible for disposing of waste from around two million residents across the seven boroughs.

In a statement from the board’s controlling seven members, the Greens said they “instinctively opposed” burning rubbish but would not “shy away from reality”.

“Since being elected as new board members, we have inherited a poisoned chalice in the Edmonton incinerator project,” the group said.

“We committed to exploring every alternative avenue, and we have done that. We have found that political mismanagement by the previous Labour-controlled board has left us with no better options.

“It is simply between this or bankruptcy.”

In their statement, the Greens continued: “We will not shy away from the reality of the project in front of us. And we are determined to ensure that transparency and accountability are at the heart of all decisions going forward.

“The authority, under Green leadership, has renegotiated a better contract [with contractor Acciona] that reduces the taxpayer burden.

“We have also introduced a set of checks and balances to avoid a return to the disorder which has characterised this project to date.

“We do this as we look at transformative, cross-borough approaches to increase recycling and food waste options, to drive better environmental outcomes and reduce costs. We further call on national government support to help us get there.”

NLWA chief Jacob Cable, a senior Hackney councillor, previously told MyLondon it was “clear” that scrapping the project would be “devastating both financially for the seven constituent boroughs”.

The construction of a new incinerator has been plagued by slow progress and the current waste burner, commissioned in 1971, will stay in use until 2030.

Its replacement was initially intended to be up and running by 2027, until the project was hit by construction delays resulting from Brexit, the war in Ukraine and high interest rates. The scheme was approved in 2017 and work began in 2022.

It has been met with heavy pushback from resident groups, such as Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now, who fear it could increase demand for waste and release harmful particles into the air.

The previous administration, headed by Waltham Forest Labour councillor Clyde Loakes, assured residents it would meet government environmental standards and act as an “exemplar” for future projects.

The energy-from-waste incineration plant will use the process of selective catalytic reduction – converting nitrogen oxide into water and diatomic nitrogen – and a combined dry/wet scrubber to capture particles.

Cllr Loakes said last year that scrapping the plans would be the “worst possible outcome” for more than two million people.

He added that not completing the project would be “detrimental” to North Londoners and would deny them “a safe, clean and low-carbon solution for managing their waste”.

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