North London to cut incineration

The Edmonton incinerator is the largest in Britain

The authority that manages north London's waste says it has come up with a plan to reduce reliance on an out-of-date incinerator.

The North London Waste Authority, which works with seven boroughs, has come up with an ambitious plan that uses waste to create fuel and boosts composting.

The authority also wants to double current recycling rates by 2020.

Reducing the use of the 30-year-old incinerator in Edmonton in Enfield is a key part of the authority's goal.

NORTH LONDON WASTE Amount of waste each year: 1m tonnes Amount recycled: 24% Amount incinerated: 40% Amount sent to landfill: 36%

The plan, set to receive approval from the authority on 29 October, will help the boroughs meet new national and European waste reduction targets by 2020.

The boroughs affected by the plan are: Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

Reduce footprint

It will also ensure the councils have a waste plan in place when the existing disposal contract expires in 2014.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, chair of the authority, said: "We hope that this approach will not only help us reduce north London's carbon footprint but will also enable us to offer our residents the best possible solution for managing waste into the future."

The new proposals, which need to be formally approved as a first step towards seeking government funding, include:

• Four new household waste and recycling centres.

• Two new sorting facilities for metal, plastics, glass and other recycled materials.

• A composting plant that also turns biodegradable waste into a bio-gas that can then be used generate electricity.

• A heat and power plant that uses recovered fuels instead of fossil fuels.

A spokeswoman for the authority said the move away from incineration is in response to both scientific studies and a response to local residents who have long opposed the facility.