DORSET will never meet its carbon reduction targets – if the Portland incinerator is built, according to council leader Nick Ireland.

He claims that even if all of Dorset’s residual waste was sent to the incinerator, it would only account for 20 per cent of its use – the rest having to be brought into the county.

This has been disputed by Powerfuel - see below.

Dorchester Cllr Richard Biggs, Dorset Council’s deputy leader, said the claims that burning waste contributed more CO2 to the atmosphere than coal-burning power stations was “absolutely terrible.”

“it’s just madness in my view” he told a Cabinet meeting.

Cllr Nick Ireland, the council leader, said reducing waste would remain a key focus for Dorset Council, not only avoiding using landfill, but saving collection and disposal costs.

Dorset Council is currently No1 in the country for recycling.

“There is no imperative for burning stuff to generate electricity… it’s been done by authorities around the country as a way of avoiding landfill tax. They don’t recycle as they should so they just burn stuff, which is wrong,” he said.

Cllr Ireland said the council, which had formally objected to the Portland incinerator, was still in the process of deciding whether the Minister’s decision would be tested at Judicial Review.

The company behind the project, Powerfuel Portland Ltd, has consistently said that the plant will comply with all the environmental and emission legislation and that its Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) will help deal with Dorset’s waste while at the same time producing energy for the grid.

Said Cllr Ireland: “The incinerator has a capacity of something like 200,000 tonnes a year. We generate about 35,000 tonnes, potentially. Even if we sent everything we generate to Portland, its 20 per cent of its capacity and 80 per cent would need to be imported which would kill our carbon targets… we would have an incinerator in Dorset spewing out CO2. We’ll never hit our carbon targets if it is built and that’s the sad fact of it. It will sadly become the most carbon intense part of Dorset.”

WE HAVE been asked to point out by Powerfuel that the statement above is incorrect.

It said: "The Dorset and BCP Waste Plan forecasts that by 2028 an additional 214,000 tonnes of waste treatment capacity is required.  At the inquiry an error was identified in the plan and the Council accepted the actual additional 2028 capacity required is 309,000 tonnes. 

"The Powerfuel facility provides circa 200,000 tonnes, approximately 65% of what Dorset/BCP needs to comply with their own Waste Plan."

Powerfuel said it has repeatedly asked Dorset Council to confirm where it sends its residual waste but has not been provided with the information.