Dirty work: more than half of our rubbish is being incinerated

England is for the first time ­burning more than half its rubbish in ­incineration plants that have been branded the country’s dirtiest form of generating power.

About 12.6m tonnes of refuse collected by councils in 2023-24 were incinerated in energy from waste plants, the highest amount on record. Councils in England are now ­burning 50.2% of all collected waste, ­compared with a national recycling rate of 41.4%, according to official figures.

There are over 50 waste incinerators across England; some can burn over 500,000 tonnes of rubbish a year. For every tonne of plastic burned, at least 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere.

Ministers announced in December they were cracking down on incinerators, warning too much waste was being burned and recycling rates had stalled. They also said new projects would only be approved if they met strict environmental standards.

Campaign groups want a ban on new projects, similar to those already implemented in Wales and Scotland. The Tories pledged in their manifesto at the general election to “prevent new waste incinerators being built”.

Tower Hamlets council in east London has the highest incineration rate in the country, burning nearly 84% of all its rubbish, according to provisional government figures. It also has the lowest recycling rate in the country of household rubbish at just 15.8%. Birmingham, Hartlepool and Brighton and Hove are among the councils burning more than 70% of the rubbish they collect.

Shlomo Dowen, from the UK Without Incineration Network (Ukwin), said some waste that was being put out by householders for recycling was being burned.

He said the incinerators were also emitting harmful toxins into the air and contributing to carbon emissions. “Incinerators are being misused to burn material that could and should be recycled or composted,” he said. “It’s harming recycling, it’s harming the environment and it’s harming human health.”

It has been estimated that incinerators emit more than 7m tonnes of CO2 a year. A BBC investigation in October found energy from incineration was the dirtiest way the UK generates power, with scientists warning the incineration plants were “disastrous” for the climate. Ukwin said that any emitted toxins contributing to pollution can harm human health.

The UK Health Security Agency’s position on incinerators is that modern, well-run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. One of the proposed new incinerator plants is on the Isle of Portland on the Jurassic coast. It will overlook the training ground of the British sailing team, with some Olympic athletes threatening to quit the site if the project goes ahead.

“We still hope it’s not going to happen,” said Laura Baldwin, who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. “This has been promoted as clean energy, but it is now seen as a dirty industry that nobody wants on their doorstep.”

Campaigners lost a high court case in April against the government’s approval of the £150m project, with a judge dismissing an application for a statutory review of the decision.

The Observer reported in December that in addition to the network of incinerations operating across England, a new generation of over 40 incinerators are in the pipeline. Many have been given environmental permits and some are under construction.

In March, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, approved an incinerator plant on an industrial estate in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, with the capacity to burn up to 760,000 tonnes of refuse annually. He concluded the impact on the ­climate crisis only warranted a “minor adverse weight” in his decision.

The Environmental Services Association, the trade body for the recycling and waste treatment sector, said energy from waste plants complemented recycling initiatives.

It said that stagnant recycling rates were indicative of a failure to develop ­recycling policies. The association said it is incorrect to report the CO2 emissions from incineration plants without also accounting for the avoided emissions linked to waste that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

A government spokesperson said: “For far too long the nation has seen its recycling rates stagnate and relied on burning household waste, rather than supporting communities, to keep resources in use for longer. This government has made clear it will only back new waste infrastructure projects if they meet strict local and environmental conditions.” Councils said that incineration can help divert waste from going into landfill. Tim Rowkins, a cabinet member at Brighton and Hove council, said: “The ideal scenario with our collected waste is that as much of it as possible is recycled. But in instances where that is not possible, our preference as a council is to use it for energy recovery rather than send it to landfill.”