Sir – Mel Gibson (Letters, May 21) says that he is not convinced that Oxfordshire is against the proposed Sutton Courtenay incinerator planned by the county council.
The Sutton Courtenay incinerator would be built and operated by WRG at a cost of over £100m. Oxfordshire County Council would be committed to a contract of 25 years or more. They claim incineration is a cost-effective option, but with increased recycling, the changing nature of waste and the need for WRG to make a profit from council taxpayers this is a questionable claim. The council claim to have been technology neutral, allowing the market to decide on the technology — inevitably companies will propose what is likely to be most profitable for themselves.
At Maidstone in Kent, WRG recently completed a new incinerator on behalf of Kent County Council. It has been fully operational for about a year. Councillor Keith Ferrin, the council’s environment spokesman, said it had been a ‘stupid’ decision in hindsight, but there had been no way to predict changes to the industry.
He said: “The people who thought they were being very clever and economical with people’s money ten years ago have produced a situation where the reverse is true, as KCC is now committed to a contract we can’t get out of. What seemed a very wise decision a very long time ago is a very stupid one today.” (KentOnLine, August 12, 2008.) The decision for Oxfordshire has not yet been finally made. New county councillors could re-assess the evidence.
Mark Stevenson, Dorchester on Thames parish councillor
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