Plans unveiled to build Leeds waste incinerator

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Sat 19 Jun, 2010 12:55 am

From YEPPlans have been unveiled to build a waste incinerator in Leeds that could create electricity for 42,000 homes.Waste company Biffa wants to develop the plant – officially called an energy recovery facility – on the site of the former Skelton Grange power station near junction 44 of the M1.Commercial and industrial waste that is currently dumped in Biffa's Skelton Grange landfill site in Pontefract Lane would be burned to produce 21 megawatts of electricity.About 500,000 tonnes of waste is currently taken to the landfill site which is expected to be full by 2014, around the time Biffa hopes its new plant will become operational.The company today launched a two-day public exhibition giving details of its scheme. 5,000 invitations to the exhibition were sent out based on a 2km radius from the site. The nearest homes to the site are 1.5km to the north, according to BiffaThe exhibition is at Leeds College of Building's Stourton Link Campus at Unit 3, Intermezzo Drive. Opening hours are 2 to 8pm today and 11am to 2pm tomorrow.A planning application is likely to be submitted to Leeds City Council this summer.The council itself is proposing to build an electricity-generating waste incinerator in Cross Green to deal with the city's household waste that cannot be recycled.Biffa development director Simon Allin said: "We hope the prospect of bringing this site back into use for energy production while supporting the economic regeneration of the Lower Aire Valley is something the community will welcome. In addition, the diversion of residual waste away from landfill is something that the public, policy makers and Biffa are also passionate about."For more information, visit www.erf-skelton-grange.co.uk, call 07585 369 215 or write to Biffa at Skelton Grange ERF consultation, c/o Skelton Grange Landfill Site, Biffa Waste Services Ltd, Pontefract Lane, Newsam Green, Leeds, LS15 9AD.http://www.erf-skelton-grange.co.uk/change.html

dogduke · Post by **dogduke** » Sat 19 Jun, 2010 1:18 am

South Leeds cops it again.No suitable sites in LS17 etc?,no thought not.Is there a graph which shows council tax spending by postal district ?I suspect I know where most of the spend goes on improvements to the surroundings

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Sat 19 Jun, 2010 5:20 pm

This is East Leeds isn't it? The site appears north of the River Aire in the on-line blurb.Personally I think it's a good idea and I'm less than convinced about all the unproven eco-mumbo jumbo being spouted by the usual anti-everything brigade regarding the idea.There are no homes in the immediate vicinity and any heavily filtered and cleaned output is going to be carried eastwards (away from the city) and dispersed by the prevailing winds anyway. To me it makes absolute sense to build something like this in an industrial area.

biggee99 · Post by **biggee99** » Sat 19 Jun, 2010 6:16 pm

It dose make sense to build on the old power station site,but why would LCC build next to a housing estate on the old car boot/wholesale market and know down houses/That has just been modernised at the cost of the tax payer. Why don't LCC council build on the old power station as well, out of site? Where i live we suffer from the smell of the water works/tip and now we are going to get it from the old market/car boot. Would this not make sense they is a housing shortage and LCC want to knock more houses down?Where are there brains and common sense?

MaidenLUFC · Post by **MaidenLUFC** » Sun 20 Jun, 2010 9:47 pm

Where I live we suffer from the smell of the sewage works too (East End Park) and this isn't going to exactly help the area in terms of the supposed "regeneration"... I'm a bit worried about the value of my house to be honest with you!I understand the argument that it's an industrial area anyway, but they don't quite realise the impact on local residents. Many of the residents around here are council housed (many in Cross Green, Richmond Hill and most of Halton Moor) and rented accommodation but a lot of us have actually bought our house and something like this would adversely affect it's value as well as the quality of life.As usual, LCC doesn't give a toss about the resident's views. In somewhere like LS16/LS17 people would kick up that much of a stink that it wouldnt be worth the hassle even proposing it. They know they won't get as much of an argument of the LS9-er's and quite frankly my dear they dont give a damn about us!!!

MaidenLUFC · Post by **MaidenLUFC** » Sun 20 Jun, 2010 9:57 pm

And another thing... the toxins produced by burning waste are much more poisonous to the environment than if the waste is sent to landfill.If the government is so bothered about "going green" why dont they do something that will actually help the problem rather than force the council into a corner with their only choice to build an incinerator to burn the waste??All this talk about saving the environment and recycling and they're looking at building a massive bonfire to dispose of waste? That's environmentally friendly isnt it??Perhaps the council should collect my brown and green bins when they say they will, my brown bin has been out in the street since a week last thursday, their response? "We'll try collect it before the next collection day"What a load of [edited for content]!You've started me off on a rant now...Successive governments have put off and put off and put off the problem (or supposed problem - I'll come to that shortly) of global warming and now suddenly they're deciding that we all need to act ASAP to try save the dolphins and the polar bears from destruction of the world which we as UK citizens have caused by leaving the living room lamp on all night or driving to the supermarket and not taking our own carrier bagsWhen in fact India, China and the US are BY FAR the biggest pollutants and if they aren't going to cut back then whatever we do in the UK is simply going to be a drop in the oceanAnd global warming is a myth anyway because there used to be something like 6000 weather stations in the world taking temperatures and in the 1990's they got rid of 2000 weather stations in Russia which is one of the coldest countries so OBVIOUSLY if you take 1/3rd of the coldest temperatures out of the equation then it's going to look like the planet has warmed up a bit when it's just a manipulation of statisticsYou might ask why? What are they gaining from it?Control over what you use, what you do (i.e. your car)Extra taxes on "carbon burning" things which is pretty much everything - your car, carrier bags, road tax, petrol...Something to think aboutRANT OVER for now..

electricaldave · Post by **electricaldave** » Sun 20 Jun, 2010 10:44 pm

Well folks, I hope you enjoy the smell of dioxins.These are not produced when incineration temperatures exceed some value, can't remember exactly, its somewhere around 1100C.Thing is, it is not easy to consistanly achieve this at every stage of operation, from loading through to discharge.And of course, this is also not coutning the things that will be burned, and are not supposed to be. We all dump things like dead batteries in our rubbish, and they will never be found in all that waste, and there are many other things that will emit heavy metals that also find their way into household waste.I notice the proposal is not to put it in Alwoodley of course, if it is such a great thing, perhaps the fresh clean fumes it produces would be of most benefit to people from that area.Its all about local political clout, the reality is that folk from South Leeds have none, and that's why they will get this kind of project. They would not even dream of proposing it in the leafy suburbs.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Mon 21 Jun, 2010 12:57 am

In terms of weather stations, satellite data is used now and some parts of Russia are very hot.

Reginal Perrin · Post by **Reginal Perrin** » Mon 21 Jun, 2010 11:50 am

electricaldave wrote: Well folks, I hope you enjoy the smell of dioxins.These are not produced when incineration temperatures exceed some value, can't remember exactly, its somewhere around 1100C.Thing is, it is not easy to consistanly achieve this at every stage of operation, from loading through to discharge.And of course, this is also not coutning the things that will be burned, and are not supposed to be. We all dump things like dead batteries in our rubbish, and they will never be found in all that waste, and there are many other things that will emit heavy metals that also find their way into household waste.I notice the proposal is not to put it in Alwoodley of course, if it is such a great thing, perhaps the fresh clean fumes it produces would be of most benefit to people from that area.Its all about local political clout, the reality is that folk from South Leeds have none, and that's why they will get this kind of project. They would not even dream of proposing it in the leafy suburbs. North Leeds does not have the monopoly on "leafy suburbs" you know? Cross Green is a massive industrial space and half of Hunslet smells of human waste most days. If the wind is blowing north, whatever comes out of the chimney's in the new incinerator goes goes north. Oakwood is not a million miles from Cross Green as the crow flies.

biggee99 · Post by **biggee99** » Sun 04 Jul, 2010 4:30 pm

East Leeds has been plagued with smells, tips all around, water works treatment smells bad when the wind comes this way William Cook foundry and to top this off LCC wants to send more smells pollution this way and in the mean time demolish a lot of nice refurbished houses and move then into new rabbit hutches. How can LCC justify this since LCC bought the land around east Leeds from Lord Halifax they have made a fortune from his Estate demolish 3 farms one of them was a 600 year old pig farm the oldest in the UK gonefor a bit of coal. Until someone stands up and say this is enough they will keep getting away with it our heritage gone. How would you start a campaign to stop the site been used for the rubbish incinerator and stop the demolition of over 50 houses, when the old power station has every thing there the railway and 100s of acres of empty land, with out making people unhappy and move they out of there houses where they have been for years and years or is this ok because they are only council tenants and people who have worked hard to buy there houses who will get peanuts for them.well, if you are one of these people stick together and tell the LCC council NO. I am not the best when it comes to righting and struggle when its pen to paper BUT i think you get the message.