By Claire Warrender

FIFE COUNCIL has moved to quell fears that plans for a high tech waste incinerator could create toxic waste.

Proposals by local authorities across Scotland for the creation of combined heat and power facilities fuelled by residual waste have led to concerns about breathing in fumes from the chimney and the emission of dioxins.

However Fife’s environmental sustainability manager Chris Ewing said yesterday the new generation of incinerators were a safe, tried and tested way to deal with rubbish that cannot be recycled and was commonly used across Europe.

Under European law, councils must find alternatives to landfill or face multi-million pound fines.

Fife Council, along with every other local authority in the country, submitted plans to the Scottish Executive in January last year in response to a request asking how they would deal with residual waste-rubbish which cannot be recycled or composed.

“Our proposals were that in addition to improving recycling and composting levels to the optimum, we would provide facilities for the treatment of food waste,” said Mr Ewing.

“In recognition that even that would not be enough, the most appropriate method of dealing with what would be left would be to use it as a fuel source to produce electricity and heat.

“That should be done locally, ie within Fife.”

In June the council said any residual waste treatment venue may have to be a joint venture involving four other councils, including Perth and Kinross and Clackmannan, and would involve a lengthy public consultation exercise across all five local authorities.

At that time the councils were seeking clarification the Scottish strategy would not change under the new Executive and if financial help would be available.

Mr Ewing said he was still waiting for an answer from the Executive but that it now looked likely each council would produce their own facility.

As Fife does not have a suitable structure, a new one would have to be built from scratch at a location yet to be decided.

It is also unknown how much heat and power would be created, although any power would go into the grid for public consumption.

“It’s incumbent on us to maximise the amount of waste recycled or composed and earlier this year we broke through the 40% barrier for the first time,” added Mr Ewing.

“That in itself, however, is unlikely to be enough to meet long term requirements.

“If you look abroad at countries which are very good at recycling, it’s part of an integrated waste management strategy that involves waste treatment in the form of recycling and composting combined with heat and power facilities.”

Mr Ewing described as “unfortunate” the fact incinerator was being used to describe such facilities.

He said, “It’s a very emotive word because of what’s happened in the past with poor quality incinerators.

“What we’re talking about here are very high-tech facilities using waste as a fuel source. Pollution concerns are nowadays minimal.”

In Perth and Kinross the “energy from waste” plant at Binn Farm, Glenfarg, won the support of councillors earlier this year but is still to get the final go-ahead from the Executive, writes Richard Burdge.

It appears now there may be a re-think of government policy, which could further delay any decision.

“Following feedback from the Scottish Executive in March this year, Perth and Kinross Council consulted Fife Council concerning the development of an energy from waste facility at Binn Farm,” said a council spokesman.

“No objection was lodged but Perth and Kinross Council has accepted Fife Council’s suggestion that an air management condition be attached to the consent.

“We have now advised the Scottish Executive that the council stands by its recommendation to approve the development and we await the minister’s decision on whether or not the plans are to be called in for determination.

“Initially Perth and Kinross Council had been closely involved in developing plans for residual waste treatment through its work with the Tayside Strategic Options Review Group.

“The preferred residual waste treatment option proposed by the Tayside Group was for a 60,000 tonne energy from waste which was specifically for Perth and Kinross Council.

“However in March the Scottish ministers modified their thinking regarding the make-up of the Strategic Waste Groupings and advised that Fife, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Perth and Kinross councils should now work together to develop a joint outline business case for a solution to managing residual waste. This negated all the previous work which had been done.

“The Executive has proposed that the revised outline case should be submitted by the end of 2007 and work is under way with our partner authorities to explore the Scottish Ministers’ proposals.”