"It's outrageous" - Residents FUME over proposed Parley incinerator facility
"It's dangerous, it's polluting and it's completely unnecessary” - Dorset residents refute plans for a new incinerator
Last updated 13th Feb 2023
Members of the StopParleyIncinerator group are “appalled” BCP Council approved plans for a new incinerator situated in Parley.
“Don’t poison us” is the message from the group as they claim the incinerator is “polluting, dangerous and unnecessary.”
Melissa Carrington, a retired environmental consultant and spokesperson for StopParleyIncinerator group, called the decision to approve the new facility “outrageous”.
The plans have been vociferously opposed with over 700 people objecting to the plans back in March last year including from local parishes and town councillors.
Speaking on why BCP approved the plan, Ms Carrington said: “It just doesn’t make any sense and it makes me wonder what next? what are we going to have to do to be listened to… lie down in front of the bulldozers?”
Helen Nichols, a Parkstone resident, added: “I'm concerned that the local government can choose to inflict an incinerator on our community when local opinion is so strongly against it, and there is so little recourse. This is not democratic.”
In December 2022, BCP Council issued formal planning permission for the scheme at Chapel Lane but was delayed several more months as, Secretary of State, Michael Gove reviewed, considered, and eventually refused protests to scrap plans.
Now, members of the StopParleyIncinerator group are pleading with The Environment Agency to overturn the decision made by BCP Council.
Melissa Carrington said: ““Incineration is a really bad way of dealing with our waste. This particular incinerator will be spewing toxic emissions, heavy metals, particulate matter across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 25 years.”
Eco Sustainable Solutions, the company proposing the incinerator, rejected those claims, saying: “The facility has been designed to have extremely low emissions, for example Nitrogen and particulate emissions will be less than 1%.”
Marcus Fidge, a school teacher from Highcliffe, refutes this: “Although energy from waste is marketed as low carbon, incinerators typically emit more carbon dioxide per unit of electricity than coal fired power stations.”
He added: “Monitoring around existing incinerators has shown the build-up of dangerous amounts of dioxins and even state-of-the-art incinerators give off potentially dangerous amounts of dioxins.”
Research from 'Planetary Health' suggests the emissions produced by incinerators like nitrogen oxide and other particulates are known to cause asthma, dementia and can even lead to increased rates of hospital admission.
Mr Fidge said: "As a teacher of primary children, I'm very concerned about the health impacts on my pupils. Our school will be affected by the plume and the children are at a vulnerable age.”
In a statement, the company outlined that the new 60,000 tonne facility is a necessary means writing: Despite the best efforts of local residents and businesses to reduce, reuse and recycle more, currently over 320,000 tonnes of local leftover waste is being trucked long distances to be buried in landfill sites.”
Chief Operating Officer at Eco Sustainable Solutions, Justin Dampney told us: “This new facility will prevent 17,000 HGV ‘waste miles’ per month.
“The development is considered to have a net positive carbon impact through reducing landfilling of waste where it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas.”
Construction of the facility is set to commence later this year, unless it fails to receive authorisation by The Environment Agency.