Lauren McGaun
Activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) gathered at the Eastcroft Incinerator entrance on Nottingham’s London Road yesterday morning to protest plans for a new waste incinerator at Ratcliffe-on-Soar.
XR have criticised the hypocrisy of the plans
As local campaigners formed a wall of cardboard boxes with messages highlighting fears of the impending climate crisis, Nottinghamshire Police were called to the scene. The Eastcroft incinerator has a track record of exceeding on air pollution limits and has released up to 450 times the legal amount of toxins. It is also responsible for the majority of Nottingham’s residual waste activities at just over 50%.
XR have criticised the hypocrisy of the plans after Nottingham County Council recently declared a climate emergency in May. The council’s report into the new EMERGE centre (East Midlands Energy Re-Generation) showed that up to 30,000 more tonnes of CO2 could be emitted into the air each year.
“The Met Office has just announced that the UK is already suffering from the climate crisis, that things will only get worse – and the Council is building another incinerator?” said Dr Leora Hadas, a lecturer at the University of Nottingham.
Work on the £330 million waste incinerator is due to begin late next year
“It feels like we’re banging our heads on a brick wall.”
Local MPs Nadia Whittome and Lilian Greenwood signed the CEE Bill earlier this year – a cross party initiative to transition to a zero-carbon society.
Work on the £330 million waste incinerator is due to begin late next year, with hopes it will be fully operational by 2025.
Lauren McGaun
Images courtesy of Extinction Rebellion Nottingham. Permission for use granted to Impact. No changes were made to these images.
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