We always welcome a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This letter from a resident known to OnTheWight but who would prefer to remain anonymous, about the Forest Park Recycling Centre due to open later this year.
If you’re interested in how Isle of Wight waste is currently recycled, see our article from December 2017. Ed
I am writing to raise concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the ‘Energy Recovery Facility’ being built and soon to be opened at Forest Road Newport later this year.
‘Direct burn incineration’ variation
There has been very little coverage of this development in the press, and in particular there has been little mention of the variation granted in 2018 to allow 40,000 tonnes of waste to be disposed of by ‘direct burn incineration’ (see more here as well as difference between gasification and incineration).
Important questions
With the impacts of air quality on health increasingly gaining public interest; and with talk of banning diesel cars and household stoves, surely it is only fair that the Isle of Wight public is given more information about the new incinerator on Forest Road.
- How will the Energy Recovery Facility at Forest Road work?
- What air pollution risks will there be and how will emissions be monitored?
- How many hours per day will the incinerator run?
- Will there be a chimney and will there be a smell?
More transparency please
I appreciate that we need to manage our waste somehow, and we have to move away from landfilling waste and incineration is an effective option.
However I feel like the incinerator aspect of the Forest Road site is not being openly talked about and I feel like the public need to be given more information about it in relation to the questions above.
Image: © Amey
