Hello, my name is Carina and I’m writing on behalf of Stop The Edmonton Incinerator Rebuild. Together with a small group of volunteers, we are fighting to stop one of the largest incinerators in Europe being unnecessarily built in North London. 

We are doing this not just for cleaner air for our children and a better way of managing future waste, but because incinerators are not fit for a time of climate and ecological emergency, and a win for North London could set an example for of the whole country.

What do we need the funds for?

We need to raise £10,000 to take the Government to court for failing to review the Direct Consent Order (DCO), or planning permission, it granted back in early 2017, effectively giving the go-ahead for the proposed new incinerator. 

We believe, as I’m sure you do, the world has moved on. We are in a state of climate emergency, we now have ambitious waste reduction and recycling targets – supported by the Mayor of London and the national Government - and we do not need any more incinerators.

The project is being driven by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) whose main reason for going ahead with the project seems to be that it has taken them a decade to develop the plan and they don’t want to go back to the drawing board! We know that managing our waste is a complex problem but there are alternatives and the NLWA must take a different route.

I only found out about plans for a new incinerator a year ago. In that time, I have worked with several other local families to launch the Stop The Edmonton Incinerator Rebuild campaign. We have met our MPs, hosted community events and held information stalls. We have written and met the NLWA, launched a petition to parliament, engaged with thousands of members of the public, and spoken to journalists. But the NLWA has remained resolute in its plan, intending to press ahead. A review and revoking of the DCO would force the NLWA to re-think its plan and come up with a waste prevention and management solution fit for the 21^st century.

What’s wrong with the proposed incinerator? 

Plans are underway to build a new incinerator next to the current one at Edmonton, which has been burning the waste, much of it preventable or recyclable, of North London since 1969 and is coming to the end of its life. If built, it would be one of the largest in Europe and would cost at least £650 million, funded from public borrowing. It would lock-us into decades, possibly as far as 2075, of emissions of vast amounts of particulate matter and other pollutants, low waste prevention and recycling rates, and significant greenhouse gas emissions. 

At a time of climate and ecological emergency and with air pollution recognised as one of the greatest public health challenges today, the proposed plan to rebuild the incinerator is short-sighted, reckless and deeply worrying.

Please give as generously as you can and spread the word far and wide.

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Still not convinced that we need your support? Keep reading.

And if you’re on board please give generously right now, don’t leave it till later, please. Thank you.

 A word from our lawyers

“Our client has written to the Secretary of State under the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review and asked that he confirm that he will conduct a complete review of the Development Consent Order granted to the North London Waste Authority in 2017. Our client’s position is that new national and regional policies and the increasingly urgent need to tackle global heating by taking into account climate change mitigation along with significant changes in public opinion, means that the only rational outcome from that review is that the Defendant will decide to revoke the DCO”.

More on the proposed incinerator

The NLWA manages North London’s waste on behalf of the seven North London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest). As the proposed developer for the new incinerator, so large it is deemed a piece of national infrastructure, it required a Development Consent Order (DCO), which was granted by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Greg Clark MP in February 2017, two-and-half years ago. The DCO was granted following a very limited public consultation process (conducted over 4 years ago)- we know from our public outreach over recent months that most residents of North London and their MPs are completely unaware of these plans!

The case for our legal challenge

Recently, I wrote to the Secretary of State for BEIS, Greg Clark MP, on behalf of our campaign, urging him to reconsider his decision to grant the DCO. My arguments to him rested on the fact that much has changed since he took his decision in early 2017. But he wrote back stating a review would only be conducted in exceptional circumstances and that the decision taken in early 2017 still holds. 

The case rests on the fact that I did put forward some strong arguments for the review- including lack of public participation, health impacts, waste management and the circular economy, climate change mitigation. We know that incinerators emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases, especially as they burn plastic, and that they are the greatest barrier to the transition to a circular economy, acting as a disincentive to waste prevention and recycling. In the process of turning materials into ash and smoke, the emit pollutants and microscopic Particulate Matter (PM). This is what DEFRA have to say about PM: ‘Exposure to airborne PM is associated with a range of adverse effects on human health including effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, leading to hospital admissions and mortality. There is increasing evidence that fine and ultrafine particulate matter plays a more significant role than previously thought’

There are genuine grounds for concerns that warrant a review by Mr Clark. Moreover, given the changes in public opinion, national and regional policy and law since 2017 (such as new legally mandated recycling targets, the Clean Air Strategy, or the amendments to the Climate Change Act for net zero emissions by 2050), going ahead with the decision is irrational.

Ending business-as-usual at a time of climate emergency

I believe that requiring Mr Clark to review his previous decision in light of the climate emergency could help to bring greater awareness of the need for public bodies and decision makers to take account of the ecological crisis. In the context of infrastructure projects it would mean ensuring their rationale still stands as we transition towards net zero emissions.

Please help – any amount will be amazing! And spread the word, share on your facebook, twitter, email and however you can.

What happens if we win?

Our lawyers are working at a massively reduced rate, which is amazing, but we must still raise at least £10,000. These funds will go exclusively towards funding legal fees, as well as my personal liability of £5,000 should I lose this case. If I win, all the funds will go towards the lawyers’ costs which will inevitably be more than £10,000 in total. 

Thank you, 

Carina and all the families and residents of North London campaigning to Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Rebuild