My last blog entry was a comment on the cuts - well I can't not also comment on the news that the Private Finance Initiative funding for the Gloucestershire waste treatment scheme has been withdrawn. Great stuff - PFIs are a complete waste of money that make corporations very rich and put the costs onto the next generation....
Photo: Ruscombe valley
Anyhow shortly after the Chancellor George Osborne's spending review announcement the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was cancelling PFI to seven projects. The council bought Javelin Park for £7.4m which basically meant it was then eligible for £92m in PFI credits from the Government. In recent weeks concern has been growing amongst campaigners that GCC are planning to spend the PFI on a large incinerator.
One strong indication was that the County hired Professor Roy Harrison, an international expert on air pollution to scrutinise proposals for a new waste disposal plant. Yet this prof is well known to dismiss fears about dioxins and pollution from incinerators - now as I've said before the arguments against incinerators are well strong enough if you look at the economics and the lack of flexibility without even having to debate the health issues.
It will now be interesting to see how we move forward - MBT was the other option for the PFI but now surely there is a case for a smaller MBT plant and increased recycling? We need to relook but let us hope this will allow us to shelve completely the massive incinerator. But hey I must to bed it is well late!
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