Yorkshire MP John Grogan to call on ban on creation of new waste incinerators

A Yorkshire MP is to call in Parliament for a ban on creating new waste incinerators and a tax on the facilities that already exist.
John Grogan, MP for KeighleyJohn Grogan, MP for Keighley
John Grogan, MP for Keighley

Keighley MP John Grogan will make the plea tomorrow when he leads a Westminster Hall debate on how waste incineration is regulated.

It comes as the Environment Agency considers a controversial application for a waste-to-energy incinerator alongside the the Aire Valley trunk road in the Labour MP's constituency.

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Mr Grogan told The Yorkshire Post: "The Environment Secretary Michael Gove inspired me to call the debate when he told me that I had 'a good point' when I pointed out that various studies had indicated that the country already had sufficient incinerator capacity.

"There is a danger that new incinerators will have the perverse incentive of diverting waste that would have otherwise been recycled.

"Currently we have a tax on landfill and I will argue that the same should apply to incinerators. The extra funding could go to local authorities to help push up recycling rates."