Last week, I held a Westminster Hall debate on the subject of waste incinerators – an issue that has long been of deep concern to my constituents and one that raises broader questions about local accountability, environmental sustainability and the direction of national waste strategy.
For over 16 years, I have stood with Derby South constituents to oppose the development of a waste incinerator in our community. My constituents’ commitment to safeguarding public health, protecting our local environment and demanding better decision-making has been unwavering. As their MP, I promised I would honour efforts by taking our campaign to Parliament and that’s exactly what I have done.
While the specifics of Sinfin may be local, the implications are national. This is not an isolated case. Across the UK, communities are sounding alarm bells about the location, technology and oversight of waste incineration projects. At the heart of these concerns lies a simple question: are we getting this right?
The story in Sinfin is, unfortunately, one of poor planning, flawed decision-making and a worrying lack of transparency. The incinerator was intended to be a cutting-edge gasification facility that promised cleaner, more efficient waste processing. In reality, it has become a monument to failure. The plant has never been fully operational, having failed repeated commissioning tests, and yet has cost the public nearly £150 million.
Despite never processing a single load of operational waste, residents have endured odour, noise and pest infestations. One local described the experience of keeping windows closed through the summer due to unbearable smells and swarms of flies. These are not abstract concerns. They are real, lived consequences of a project that has never delivered on its promises but has instead worsened the quality of lives across my community.
And yet, for too long, those concerns have been dismissed or downplayed, in turn, damaging trust in the very systems that exist to serve and represent public interest. As Derby South’s local MP, I felt compelled to rebuild that trust through making their voices heard on this issue on the national stage.
Incinerators are becoming an increasingly prominent feature of the UK’s waste strategy. Nearly half of household waste is now incinerated, and many local authorities are locked into “deliver or pay” contracts that require a minimum volume of waste to be sent to incinerators – effectively disincentivising efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.
At the same time, recycling rates in England have flatlined for over a decade, and as recent BBC analysis has shown, burning rubbish to produce electricity is now the dirtiest way the UK generates power. This is not sustainable, nor the progress needed to meet our ambitions to protect our planet.
What’s more, incinerators are too often built near homes, schools, care facilities and green spaces. That proximity raises serious questions about health, social impact and the ability of residents to meaningfully participate in planning processes that affect them.
I’m proud that the Labour government has taken some welcome steps in this area. New rules for incinerators now include stricter environmental and efficiency standards, with an emphasis on aligning future developments with net zero goals and the move towards a circular economy. These are important developments. But for communities like Sinfin, they come too late. The damage – both financial and social – has already been done.
We must now think bigger and act bolder. That means phasing out our overreliance on incineration and refocusing efforts on reducing waste and dramatically increasing recycling. It also means ending the practice of locking councils into long-term waste contracts that leave them with little flexibility to innovate or adapt.
Local authorities need more support and greater clarity if we are to meet environmental targets, deliver value for money and protect public health. Residents must be brought into the process earlier and more meaningfully. And new infrastructure must be rooted in proven technology and sound financial modelling – neither of which were present in the case of Sinfin.
Above all, we need to learn the lessons of this failure. Communities like mine should never again have to live for years under the looming shadow of a development that brings so much disruption and delivers so little benefit. I look forward to meeting government officials to discuss the Sinfin case, and to consider how we can better protect communities from similar outcomes in the future.
If we are serious about building a greener, fairer, and more resilient country, we need to be honest about what’s working, and it this case, what isn’t. Waste incineration, as it stands, is not delivering for too many communities or for our environment.
We can, and must, do better.
Enough is Enough: Why We Must Rethink the Role of Waste Incinerators
