A plea to all Cllrs

Dear Editor,

No Wey Incinerator, a community action group campaigning against Veolia’s plans to build a fourth incinerator in Hampshire, is asking all Hampshire councillors to consider why the county’s recycling record is so poor and why Hampshire is so reliant on incineration.

Twenty years ago Hampshire was at the top of the recycling league table. It now languishes near the bottom, with Veolia needlessly incinerating hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recyclable plastic.

Hampshire now ranks 198th out of 341 English local authorities in DEFRA’s 2019-20 recycling league table. Neighbouring Surrey is 36th in the country, recycling almost 15% more waste.

Hampshire’s needless incineration of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recyclable material every year, generating CO2, pollution, and hazardous waste, is contrary to HCC’s declared “Climate Emergency”.

HCC still has no plans to recycle more and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; all vital for meeting the 2050 “Net Zero” CO2 target. 

Apart from Eastleigh, there is also no food waste collection in Hampshire. Surrey recycles many more plastics than Hampshire, which is also tied into a failing long-term contract with the waste processing giant Veolia, who have submitted the planning application to build the county’s fourth incinerator.

This facility would burn industrial and commercial waste in the Hampshire countryside near Alton, on the borders of the South Downs National Park.

The waste will come mostly from outside the county, making Hampshire the incineration dustbin of the South of England.

The Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan clearly shows that the county already has enough incineration capacity to meet its needs, but lacks recycling capacity.

If the planning application is approved, the recycling facility currently at the site will have to close. At present there is no plan for an alternative recycling site, so Hampshire’s problem will become even worse.

An over-reliance on incineration is known to reduce improvements in recycling.

Many Nordic countries, who originally championed incineration, are now aiming to halve their incineration capacity because they recognise it has a negative impact on recycling and climate targets.

More than 5,000 public objections, at every political level from parish councils to MPs, have been submitted to Hampshire County Council opposing the plan for the county’s fourth incinerator.

Planning permission for this development will be considered at HCC’s Regulatory Committee in the summer. The strength of public opposition to this proposal shows that the sustainable management of waste is clearly a key issue for the local elections.

No Wey Incinerator says that all councillors should be concerned about Hampshire’s dire record and the implications of its reliance on incineration for the county’s future.

No Wey Incinerator Campaign Group

 

Set an example

Dear Editor,

I have just been reading your election piece on the candidates views on climate change. Reform UK should be called anti-reform!! 

Anyway, until the pandemic, I worked at a Hampshire County Council residential home in Charlton and it always bothered me they did not recycle. I was told the cost of having the industrial sized bins emptied was too much.

Aren’t bin collections organised by HCC? I have it on good authority that recycling is yet to be introduced there. 

Surely HCC should be setting an example and ensure all their buildings recycle?!

A concerned local.
Name and address supplied

God bless the Queen

Dear Editor,

The 17th of April was a heartbreak day. A wonderful lady sits in the Chapel, alone. 

A nation mourns with her, for the loss of her soul companion, our friend. His Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is taken to his resting place. His loyalty to our Queen was a bond that kept them together and could not be broken. 

Like our Queen he was a champion of the commonwealth and this was performed with fortitude and faith. 

He loved British Navy life and he did so much for the armed forces. 

His hobby was engineering and he was an expert at this. He also had a great sense of humour which is what made him so endearing to us all. 

We will miss seeing him at her side, but we know that he will be there in spirit. 

They travelled the world together on trains and boats and planes. Our glittering duo went out into the world weaving their fairy tale story that is looked upon as magic by all nations. This is an end of an era, of the golden days of their reign together. 

So much goodness has come from this story and their hard work. God bless them both and thank you for all dreams you have given to those low in spirit. Hope, faith, and charity you have shown with splendid Humanity. God bless our Queen and her family. 

God bless all of you. 
Josie Smith, Shipton Bellinger, Tidworth