MEPs reject incineration

27 February, 2007

Bairbre de Brún MEP

An attempt to put incineration on the table as a valid choice for local governments has been soundly trounced in the European Parliament. MEPs voting in February’s plenary session in Strasbourg have rejected plans to reclassify incineration as “waste recovery” rather than “waste disposal”. The vote was part of the Parliament’s decision on the future EU waste directive, which will be binding on all member states, and represents a crucial victory for anti-incinerator and environmental campaigners.

At the last moment the report’s author, British Conservative Caroline Jackson, attempted to re-insert the industry line. But MEPs largely accepted the agreed compromise position of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee which was resolutely anti-incinerator, relegating it to near the bottom of the barrel of ways in which local authorities will be able to deal with waste.
The directive now moves to the European Council, where the 27 Governments must take a stance. Seizing the moment, GUE-NGL MEP on the Environment Committee Bairbre de Brún called on “member states to invest in the proper recycling infrastructure in line with the European Parliament’s clear vote to move towards a recycling society. MEPs from across Europe have shown their faith in waste prevention, re-use and recycling and now national governments must do the same.”  
The rejection of the pro-incinerator lobby’s attempts undoubtedly marks a victory for communities across Ireland who are battling against the imposition of unsafe incinerators. However, at government level, attempts are expected to re-insert incineration into the directive as “waste recovery” – a move that would undo much of the hard work of campaigners to date. Given the bureaucratic manoeuvrings of EU decision making, those campaigners are preparing themselves for a long and difficult battle ahead to keep incinerators out of communities.