Company asked to back campaign against Gloucester incinerator
A director who works at a potential site for a waste incinerator is reeling after being urged to sign a petition against such a proposal.
Gloucester Labour MP Parmjit Dhanda has written to constituents living close to Allstone's Myers Road site urging them to support his campaign against a possible incinerator scheme and included company director Jeanette Street, at her home address in Kingsholm.
-
stunned: Jeanette Street.
She said: "I was astonished to receive this letter. I would have thought I would be one of the last people he would have asked to sign his petition.
"The whole thing is a storm in a teacup anyway. It has only been put forward as a site to be included in the waste plan, we have no immediate plans to do anything," she said.
She added that an incinerator was just one of a number of options and accused Mr Dhanda of wasting money in his campaign.
But Mr Dhanda said the petition was against any plans for an incinerator, not the company.
Aggregate firm Allstone Ltd has put forward its site, in the Barnwood Railway Triangle, as a possible waste disposal location to be included in Gloucestershire County Council's waste strategy.
Allstone MD Simon Ford added: "There are a number of possibilities for this site and an incinerator is just one of them. We might also consider building a small business park that could provide jobs for up to 300 people.
"The most publicised concerns from environmentalists about the incineration of municipal solid wastes involve the fear that it produces significant amounts of dioxin emissions.
"Due to advances in emission control designs and stringent new governmental regulations, incinerators emit virtually no dioxins.
"It has been estimated that chimneys and tiled stoves in private households alone discharge approximately 20 times more dioxins into the environment than modern incineration plants."
A spokesman for Mr Dhanda said: "Parmjit's well supported petition is not against Allstones, it was against the Gloucestershire County Council's plan to build an incinerator in Gloucester.
"The press release, however, is a concern, as it confirms what Gloucester residents are fearing that the site could well be used by the county council for a 10-storey incinerator."
46 Comments
View all
by link, Glos
Saturday, September 19 2009, 9:47PM
“Thanks Mr Dhanha for the heads up.
Rachael'Kingsholm. Speaks for me with more eloquence than I can muster.
I do recognize the need for economic growth, could the "Triangle" find profit and also filter revenue into the city by other means?”
by notagainsteverything, Glourious Glos!
Friday, September 18 2009, 8:19PM
“I was in Belfast recently and discovered that they had an incinerator almost in the centre of the city, planned to build another to compliment the first one,and quess what? nobody was trying to stop either!
There are very large incinerators all over the continent, it is only in this country that when something is to be built for the benefit of everyone, that same people scream, we don't want "that" here.
If it would have been left to them we would all be living in sod houses with grass roofs!”
by Rachael, Kingsholm
Friday, September 18 2009, 12:06PM
“I support this petition and thank Parmit Dhanda for leading on this. It is so clearly not in the interests of Gloucester as a city or its residents to have an incinerator in the city centre. It certainly won't help to smarten Gloucester's image as a tourist destination for one! However, a principal reason for objecting is that given the current significant concerns about climate change, Gloucester County council should focus on more environmentally friendly ways of reducing waste, rather than pouring more carbon into the air around us. As well as improving recycling and composting facilities in the city, we need to encourage more innovative ways of waste reduction, such as ensuring all packaging is recyclable in the first place. My black bin is practially empty each week and my green bin is full becuase we make every effort to avoid buying unnecessary packaging that will end up in the bin. Companies in the city also need to play their part to recycle everything they can and reduce their own waste impact on the city. My company recycles all waste paper, cardboard, tins and plastics and has recently introduced compost bins for staff to recycle their food waste as well.”
by Joe K, Barton & Tredworth
Friday, September 18 2009, 11:27AM
“WUP is short for 'wind up purveyor', of course...”
by Joe K, Barton & Tredworth
Friday, September 18 2009, 11:24AM
“You really want to have your cake and eat it, don't you, 'Jerry'? When I see you trying to have a 'full debate' with anyone else, I'll consider the possibility that you aren't just a WUP from Pullman Court. Crack on, now.”