Lib Dems Call for Halt to 'Headlong Rush' Towards a New Giant Incinerator for Rookery South Pit

Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are demanding that plans for a giant incinerator at Rookery South Pit near Stewartby are assessed on equal terms along with other waste treatment options to ensure that a cleaner, more environmentally friendly solution to the problem of waste disposal is used. At last night's meeting of the Implementation Executive the Lib Dems won approval for their proposal that such an assessment be made a condition of the Borough Council's support for any further spending by the County Council on the project to procure a new waste treatment site.

Commenting on the issue, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Dave Hodgson said "The County Council's plans for a massive incinerator near Stewartby are fundamentally flawed for a number of reasons. The proposed plant has a capacity greater than the amount of household waste that is currently going into landfill in the county, meaning that it would be likely to work against efforts to reduce and recycle waste, or result in even more lorries coming into Bedfordshire from elsewhere to dump rubbish. This must simply not be allowed to happen.'

"Mass burning of rubbish is clearly not the best solution for Bedfordshire, for local residents or the local and wider environment. We must have a comprehensive assessment of the available options in order to halt this headlong rush towards an oversized, unwanted incinerator."