Transition Bedford

Here are some questions you might like answered concerning what will happen if the proposed Covanta Incinerator in Stewartby is given the go ahead:

Where does the rubbish go?

Up the chimney and all over Bedfordshire.

Will this affect the air I breath?

Yes.

Is the incinerator environmentally friendly?

No.  It’s less environmentally friendly than a coal fired power station.  Both generate masses of CO2 but the incinetor will add a few poisonous and carcinogenic substances to the mix as well.

Will the incinerator generate a significant amount of electric power?

No.  If one looks at Chapter 8 of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation, one can verify that the solar power falling on one square metre of land on a sunny day, is 120 watts.  This means that the amount of solar power falling on a square kilometre of land is 120 Megawatts.  The projected power output of the Covanta Incinerator is 65Megawatts, which is little more than half this value. 

Can I rely on Covanta not to emit carcinogenic material into the atmosphere?

No. last year, the New Jersey register reported that Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was suing Covanta for emitting excessive levels of a carcinogen for the second time in three years at its waste-to-energy plant in Wallingford, Connecticut.  If Covanta behave like this in the USA, we have absolutely no reason to believe they will behave any differently here in the UK.

For further information, here is an article about incineration by a Professor of Environmental Chemistry: http://www.cank.org.uk/connett1.html

I have been trying to understand the science behind the proposed Covanta Waste Incinerator at Stewartby.  I must confess, I am perplexed.  I would have thought that, if one burnt carbon based waste, one would generate carbon dioxide (CO2).

According to a Wikipedia article on the subject, combustion, or burning, is a sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant, accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species.  In my understanding, most fuels are carbon based and the gases produced by combustion contain a large amount of carbon dioxide.  I would imagine that much of the waste material to be burnt at the Covanta incinerator would be carbon based too.  I would imagine that burning it would generate a huge amount of carbon dioxide.

I know for a fact that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.  The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which, before man started to produce it on an industrial scale, was augmented by volcanos and forest fires, has had a profound effect on the earth’s climate since the dawn of time.  When the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increased the earth’s temperature increases.  This effect is known as the greenhouse effect.

Knowing all this, I would have imagined that the proposed Stewartby Incinerator would generate a huge amount of carbon dioxide, along with small quantities of other more pernicious and poisonous gases, and that it would have a very damaging effect on global warming, as well as a very damaging effect on the air quality in Stewartby, Bedford, Ampthill, Flitwick and the surrounding villages.

I would have thought that a giant waste incinerator in Stewartby would do a huge amount of environmental and ecological damage.  The newspaper reports seem to be telling me this isn’t so.  For example:  There was an article in The Independant newspaper, on Sunday 1st August, entitled: UK may have to import rubbish for incinerators.  This article describes the damage incinerators can do.  However, the last paragraph of the article quotes a Defra spokesman who seems to be telling us that generating electricity by burning waste is a good thing.

I would like to say I understand all the discussions of this matter in the media.  Regrettably, I do not.  All I know for sure is that I do not like this proposal.  If I ask myself the question: “If I could afford to leave Bedford, were this project to go ahead, would I do so?”  The answer is yes.  I would be sorry to leave.  I have made a lot of very good friends in Bedford, since I came here in April 2006.  However, I would not trust the air quality in Bedford if I had a giant waste incinerator on my doorstep.  This would especially be the case if the incinerator was working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as this one is expected to do.

What is more, the area around Stewartby and Marston Vale is fast becoming an area of great natural beauty.  Do we really want to see this spoilt with the building of some dark, satanic mill right in the centre of it?  We have the wonderful Millennium Country Park. in Marston Moretaine.  We have the Ampthill Forest and the beautiful Maulden Wood.  These areas are encouraging (and preserving) a wonderful array of native flora and fauna.  These areas could become a wonderful tourist resource, as well as remaining a source of refreshment, relaxation and recuperation for the residents of Bedford, Flitwick, Amptill, Clophill and Maulden.  Do we really want to see this wonderful area of natural beauty destroyed with the sight of, and the fumes from, some gigantic waste incinerator?  I know what my answer is.  My answer is no.

I am not the only one who thinks this waste incinerator is a very bad idea.  Here are some links to other people and organisations who feel the same way, people and organisations who are fighting to stop this plan from going ahead:

The Marston Moreteyne Action Group

The Facebook page for residents against the Covanta Incinerator at Stewartby

Tim Hill – Liberal Democrat Councillor for Wootton, Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick

I would like to join them in opposing this scheme.  I would urge you to do the same.