Residents in North Yorkshire have taken to protesting as councillors gear up to make a decision on a proposal for a controversial waste incinerator in the borough.
A decision will be handed down next month as to whether or not to approve the plant, which will be built nearby to Knaresborough and Harrogate, amidst calls for improved recycling rates as an alternative to the incinerator. The county council has said that the site will only serve to complement its plans to boost recycling efforts in the community.
Cllr John Savage is adamant, however, that if recycling rates in the area were improved, there would be no further need for the planned facility. Mr Savage, a representative from Ainsty Division and the Marston Moor wards, is at the forefront of the opposition for the incinerator proposal leading the residents in protests against the North Yorkshire County Council’s plans to build the incinerator.
Figures for 2009-10 indicate that Harrogate’s recycling rates are among the country’s worst averaging out at about 31 per cent. Mr Savage has accused the authority of neglecting to improve recycling rates and keeping them on par with other councils across the country.
Ian Fielding, assistant director for waste management in North Yorkshire County, said that the local authority will not move away from the necessity of treating waste. He added that the council plans to recycling more, but that there was definitely more work to be done again reiterating that the facility at Allerton Park would serve to complement recycling rather than undermine it.
AmeyCespa was recently named the preferred bidder by the council to build and manage the proposed waste treatment plant. The council will make a decision next month as to whether or not to proceed with plans.
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