Following the announcement by Norfolk County Council that WRG is no longer the preferred bidder for the County’s Residual Waste Treatment Contract, South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon said today:

“I welcome the County Council’s decision to revoke WRG’s status as preferred bidder for the Residual Waste Treatment Contract and to re-open negotiations with SRM. This announcement is good news for local people and good news for the County.”

“However, I was concerned to see that despite this announcement the County is still giving WRG yet another chance to develop its bid. WRG has been the sole bidder for the last 12 months and has had plenty of opportunity to produce workable proposals. It is highly unlikely that WRG’s incinerator could have been up and running by 2010, exposing Norfolk’s council taxpayers to huge fines.”

“There are serious problems with incineration as a means of dealing with waste. It can pose risks to human health and to the environment, while the need to keep feeding the furnaces could potentially damage recycling rates and lead to the importing of waste from outside Norfolk.”

“The County now has the chance to examine other methods of waste management more closely, such as Mechanical and Biological Treatment, which is greener and more flexible and which offers better value for money. Norfolk has the chance to be one of the leaders in Europe when it comes to waste management. I urge County officials to seize this opportunity without further delay”.

27 July 2006

See also:
LOCAL NEWS: Incineration is not the answer, says MP