Incineration for Oxford?

Oxfordshire County Council has announced that it has narrowed its short-list of companies competing for its residual waste treatment contract. Concerns have been raised by Friends of the Earth (FOE) over reports that all the short-listed companies are proposing some form of incineration.

The local branch of FOE is calling for the council to instead choose Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) and high rates of recycling. Research for FOE shows that MBT, using anaerobic digestion, produces the least amount of greenhouse gas pollution. It produces renewable energy and it recovers materials for recycling including metals and plastics. This process would be expected to raise household waste recycling rates from the current figure of 38 per cent to approximately 45-50 per cent. MBT in Belgium has shown potential for recycling rates of over 70 per cent.

A spokesperson for Oxford FOE, Andrew Wood, commented that MBT is "a better choice for Oxfordshire's environment and its low carbon economy". He also said: "While the current shortlist of companies may all be proposing incineration, we believe this will change as the financial costs and liabilities are clarified."

Contracts will not be signed until 2009 at the earliest. However, the issue will be debated in January at the Oxfordshire County Council meeting in County Hall, Oxford.