The government wants to include carbon emitted by incinerators in its UK Emissions Trading Scheme but NLWA says it would be a “tax on councils”

Edmonton incinerator — The current incinerator in Edmonton, opened in 1969, is due to be rebuilt

North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is opposing the inclusion of incinerators in an updated UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UKETS) after warning that it could lead to “financial risks and unintended consequences” for local councils.

NLWA, which is currently constructing a new and larger incinerator at Edmonton Eco Park to burn waste from seven North London boroughs, says that adding incinerator facilities to the expanded UKETS would represent a “tax on councils”.

In its response to a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero consultation, NLWA has urged the government to focus efforts on product designers, manufacturers, and producers instead, which it says are “ultimately responsible” for the fossil-carbon in waste.

NLWA emits around 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from its existing Edmonton incinerator each year, and in 2022 was named as having the most environmental permit breaches in the UK.

The authority fears that setting a limit on emissions from energy-from-waste facilities – as incinerators are also known – could add tens of millions of pounds to the annual cost of waste disposal for residents in North London and force its constituent boroughs of Enfield, Barnet, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Islington to make cuts to essential services.

NLWA has called for a full impact assessment and a commitment from the government to ensuring local authority budgets are protected.

Clyde Loakes, chair of NLWA and deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council, said: “While it is crucial that we all reduce our carbon emissions to tackle the climate emergency, these proposals are essentially a tax on councils which are already at breaking point financially.

“Waste disposal authorities have very little control over the content and volume of rubbish they manage, with the population demographics and higher proportion of flats and communal properties in North London exacerbating these difficulties.

“NLWA supports proposals to pass the costs associated with fossil-based packaging onto producers through extended producer responsibility, but more needs to be done to stop these materials from becoming waste in the first place.

“We are committed to sharing our knowledge and experience of local energy generation and waste with the government to ensure policies truly enable the sector to decarbonise in line with the country’s net zero ambitions.”

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme, which came into operation in January 2021, sets a limit on greenhouse gas emissions from energy intensive industries, the power generation sector and aviation, and ensures an appropriate price is applied to additional allowances.

The government’s consultation, which sought views on proposals to include waste incineration and energy-from-waste in the scheme from 2028, closed earlier this month.

In a statement issued at the time the consultation was announced in May, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “The consultation covering waste emissions will help bring certainty to drive investment in decarbonisation, as well as helping businesses make the necessary preparations for the expansion of the scheme.

“For greenhouse gas removals, this is an important step towards building a thriving market for carbon removals in the UK.”

NLWA’s response can be read in full here at nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/consultation-responses

Update (16th August)

Carina Millstone, a spokesperson for the Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now coalition, said: “The Climate Change Committee was always clear incinerators would need to be included in the emissions trading scheme, and in time include carbon capture and storage, to meet climate targets.

“The NLWA has chosen to ignore this reality for years and has instead ploughed ahead with building the new incinerator rather than investing in waste prevention and recycling to meet its own targets. With the delays in construction, and the inevitable inclusion of the Edmonton incinerator in the emissions trading scheme, it’s high time the NLWA come clean and tell its constituent councils just how much Clyde Loakes’s polluting, toxic folly is going to cost council tax payers.”

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