Campaigners have appealed to the government to pull the plug amid rising costs and construction delays to project, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

The new energy-from-waste (EFW) incinerator in Edmonton will generate electricity as well as burn waste from seven London boroughs

Scrapping a controversial new incinerator midway through development would be “worst possible outcome” for seven boroughs, North London Waste Authority (NLWA) claims.

Campaigners from the Stop Edmonton Incinerator Now (StEIN) wrote to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband earlier this month, asking him to pull the plug on the £1.5bn North London Heat and Power project.

StEIN called on the Labour government to revoke the project’s development consent order, having argued it will release toxic particles into the air, which would constitute a public health risk.

Activists say it would also “undermine recycling” by creating a demand for waste, and the money should instead be invested into waste reduction.

The new incinerator, which will be capable of burning 700,000 tonnes of North London’s waste every year, was green-lit in 2017 and will replace the existing facility at Edmonton Eco Park built in 1969.

The incinerator would burn waste from Enfield, Barnet, Haringey, Camden, Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest boroughs.

In a letter this month to Miliband, NLWA chair Clyde Loakes said that the type of heating the incinerator would provide was “crucial to decarbonising the energy mix in the UK”.

He said not completing the project would be “detrimental” to North London residents and would deny them “a safe, clean and low-carbon solution for managing their waste” and local homes and businesses the “chance to benefit from low-carbon heating and hot water”.

He added that the scheme was approved following two rounds of public consultation, and a request for a judicial review was refused in 2019.

Cllr Loakes, who is also deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council, said: “Not everything can be recycled, and councils will still need a solution to deal with waste.”

He added: “We are disappointed that campaigners continue to attempt to stop a project which has been under construction for two years and which will provide the best long-term environmental solution for the waste generated by millions of people.

“Environmental groups should instead work with councils and government to tackle the causes of waste and target the producers responsible.”

However, campaigners who oppose the scheme said the NLWA’s claims about the incinerator’s benefits and heat supply were “unsubstantiated, confusing and long-refuted”.

A spokesperson for StEIN said it would be issuing a further statement to “expose [its] inaccuracies” and to urge Miliband not to take the letter at face value.

Work on the new incinerator is progressing well, an NLWA spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), despite news in August that high costs and labour shortages would delay the opening by two years.

The spokesperson said construction activity had “increased,” steelworks had commenced and there were numerous subcontractors on site.

It was originally due to be finished next year, but NLWA recently admitted the incinerator would not be fully up and running until 2027, following a “challenging period” in the construction industry.

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