Planning Objection Help

Incinerator promotion by stealth

Easy steps for you to help stop the incinerator
High quality food produced in West Norfolk. High quality food produced in West Norfolk.
“The main pathway for human exposure to dioxins from incinerators is by deposition in areas used for growing food and the subsequent consumption of that food”.
The Environment Agency - 29th of August 2005 .
Modern Incinerator at Stoke. A working ‘modern’ incinerator (Stoke 2005). The constant plume of fine particles is usually invisible to the naked eye.

Many assume air pollution has been resolved through ‘modern’ technology and ‘strict’ regulation. This view was even held by some now coordinating the farmers campaign. When the assumptions were challenged, ‘official’ reassurances were found wanting. The obvious visible smoke has largely been eliminated from ‘modern’ incinerators much of the time but fine particles continue to be discharged.

Legal to discharge tonnes of Lead, Cadmium and Arsenic.

Norfolk County Council have repeatedly claimed emission regulations are ‘strict’ yet figures from the developer indicate over the 25 year lifetime of the incinerator contract the law would permit the discharge of more than 21 tonnes of toxic metals including: Lead, Mercury, Arsenic and Cadmium, they accumulate in the local environment and do not break down. The developer confirmed these pollutants are only checked for just a few hours per year despite promotional material leading many to think otherwise. It is a fact that ‘Modern’ incinerators do not always keep within their permitted pollution limits. Despite improved technology incinerators continue to discharge pollution. When Nottingham’s incinerator was found 9 times the Dioxin limit (possibly for up to 6 months) the Environment Agency refused to close it down, they argued it was not in a food producing area so the contamination was less serious. In 2008 Dundee’s modern incinerator was found to be more than 100 times the permitted level of Dioxin pollution, the operator did not even receive a fine. Serious pollution incidents rarely lead to incinerators being closed down especially if they are large facilities.


Arial View, Location Matters.
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Modern incinerators produce highly contaminated Fly Ash requiring hazardous waste landfill. Dioxin contaminated fly ash being dumped at a UK hazardous waste landfill. The contaminated ash was found to have blown over neighbouring farmland and completely covered road signage.

Campaign over view and objective

We understand Norfolk must reduce its dependency on landfill and support the County Council in seeking a better solution. We disagree with the Council’s choice of technology. There are proven technologies better than incineration offering the necessary reductions in landfill without polluting the air and surrounding farmland. The local population will have to live with the consequences and therefore we demand a say in which solution is used. The impacts on health, transport and the local economy make incineration unacceptable. Only an environmentally responsible solution is acceptable such as Anaerobic Digestion, Mechanical and Biological Treatment, Autoclave and Advanced Composting. The only thermal treatment that should even be considered is Plasma Gasification. It is our objective that Norfolk’s waste is treated in the safest and most environmentally responsible manner, which minimises its impact on peoples health and the environment.