The badly devised Prosiect Gwyrdd plan to bring incinerators to Wales has taken one more step into the darkness.
Whilst Veolia in Newport has been dropped from the project in favour of Viridor in Cardiff, this does not spell good news for the residents of Newport, because the prevailing westerly winds will bring pollution from the stack in Cardiff onto households and land in Newport.
Said Pippa Bartolotti, spokesperson for SNIC, the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign, "Incinerators are being shut down in Europe due to overcapacity. People are recycling more and producing less rubbish. A large scale incinerator South Wales will be redundant well before the end of the 25 + year contract period, yet Welsh taxpayers will be forced to pay more than £1billion for it anyway.
Robert Hepworth, Chair of SNIC, said, "The people and wildlife of the Gwent Levels in Newport are probably safer as a result of today's announcement. But families and farms in Gwent are still threatened by an incinerator in Cardiff which will cost taxpayers the earth, pollute the air we breathe and undo all the good work we have done in recycling waste.
"If an expensive incinerator will save Wales £18million, the savings which could be made from safer, greener and cheaper technology such as Mechanical & Biological Treatment would be far, far greater. The campaign now moves on to the Welsh Assembly debate on incineration next Wednesday.
"We also have to make sure that the rejection of Veolia's planning application at Llanwern is upheld at the Public Enquiry next July. I hope we can finish the job and keep South Wales truly green and healthy."
Pippa Bartolotti added: "A total rethink is required, and quickly. It is high time the Welsh Government stopped looking at waste as something to be landfilled or burnt. Waste should be seen as a valuable resource to be ploughed back into the economy. We may not have a big burner in Newport, but big burners anywhere are the wrong idea. We will now take our fight to the Welsh Assembly."
Newport City Council turned down planning permission for an incinerator in July this year.
The overall authority for Prosiect Gwyrdd is the Wales Government. Prosiect Gwyrdd had shortlisted 4 incinerator companies. 2 have withdrawn from the process, leaving Viridor in Cardiff, who have already started building work, and Veolia in Newport which is currently appealing its planning permission refusal.
Pippa Bartolotti is also Leader of Wales Green Party