People have been asking Wiltshire Friends of the Earth groups why we don't support the principle of burning household waste to make energy so-called "energy from waste."

Waste is such an important issue for all of us in Wiltshire and our views are increasingly becoming the consensus in the EU, in the Environment Agency, and across most UK political parties (with both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives against incinerators and for nationwide doorstep recycling).

Firstly, we propose the following waste hierarchy:

l Eliminate

l Reduce

l Re-use

l Recycle (doorstep recycling/compost/anaerobic digestion)

l Landfill

l Incineration (with or without energy recovery)

We support re-use, doorstep recycling and composting for the following reasons:

They reduce the demand for raw materials by extending their life and maximising the value extracted for them.

They reduce the waste and habitat damage associated with the extraction of raw materials.

They save energy in the production process when compared with the energy consumed in using raw materials.

They reduce emissions to air and water in the production process.

They reduce disposal impact (if waste is regarded as a resource, and more is recycled, less waste goes to landfill or burning).

They promote personal responsibility for the waste we create because we separate it at home.

The recycling industry offers enormous potential for substantial job creation.

We also believe all remaining landfill sites should be used judiciously, not filled up so operators can build incinerators instead to make their revenues.

We oppose combustion of waste (with or without energy) for the following reasons:

Firstly, it is not true to say that waste incinerators convert household waste into energy.

Discarded resources contain embodied energy. Burning wastes this energy.

It also destroys valuable resources. For every ton of material destroyed by incineration, many more tons of raw material must be mined, processed, or distributed to manufacture a new product to take its place.

It undermines councils' recycling schemes by demanding long-term waste delivery.

Because it takes 15-25 years for a waste management company to make a return on their investment, the contract between a council and a waste management company requires the council to provide an agreed amount of waste for 25 years.

It produces emission of particulates, heavy metals and dioxins, all of which are potentially dangerous to health.

It produces toxic ash, which still has to be land-filled.

It exacerbates climate change because when materials are burned, more fossil fuel energy is used to replace the products through mining, manufacturing, and transportation around the world.

Energy from burning waste is not renewable. It is not true to say incincerators prevent greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution as a result of displacing coal.

Report ED21158 AEA technology III by the EU has shown that overall, source segregation of municipal solid waste followed by recycling achieves the lowest net flux of greenhouse gases, compared with other options for the treatment of bulk municipal solid waste.

Recycling can reduce greenhouse gases and pollution far more effectively than burning waste to displace coal.

Compared to the recycling industry it offers very few jobs. It is a much more capital-intensive and expensive approach than recycling.

It creates more noise and traffic. Incinerators can also be regarded as eyesores.

Anyone who wants doorstep recycling and no incineration could write to Dr Keith Robinson, Chief Executive, Wiltshire County Council, County Hall, Trowbridge, BA12 8JD, with a copy to Coun F de Rhe-Philipe, the chairman of the Environment Advisory Committee.

Wiltshire Friends of the Earth groups