UK: New waste incinerator may also heat tomato greenhouse
It will burn 269,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste a year. Suffolk County Council says it will save the county £8 million in landfill taxes and provide enough electricity to supply 30,000 homes.
But that leaves almost 100,000 tonnes of capacity left over that will be used to burn waste from other local authorities or private companies.
The incinerator has had a positive economic impact so far. 100 local firms won contracts during the construction, around £13.5 million worth of contracts were awarded, 47 permanent jobs have been created and £1 million will continue to go into the local economy on an ongoing basis.
Now there are plans to use the residue heat to warm a tomato greenhouse project a few hundred metres down the road. If it is granted planning permission, that will also create 200 new jobs.
But there have been concerns from local people as to the impacts on air and water quality as well as noise and increased traffic around the area. Now the expansion of the greenhouses adds to concerns.
On paper this project does look to be a success. But, despite environmental reassurances, the worries for locals continue and the further development will only fuel anxiety for this small community.
Source: www.itv.com