Copy the following message, make any changes you want to personalise it, and email it to your council leader:
Enfield: Nesil Caliskan, Leader. cllr.nesil.caliskan@enfield.gov.uk.
Hackney: Philip Glanville, Mayor. mayor@hackney.gov.uk.
Islington: Richard Watts, Leader. richard.watts@islington.gov.uk.
Barnet: Daniel Thomas, Leader. Leader@barnet.gov.uk.
Camden: Georgia Gould, Leader. georgia.gould@camden.gov.uk.
Waltham Forest: Grace Williams, Leader. Cllr.Grace.Williams@walthamforest.gov.uk.
Haringey: Peray Ahmet, Leader. peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk. Note that Haringey council has already asked the NLWA to pause and review the incinerator plans.
Copy the message to your ward councillors, MP, London Assembly members and the London mayor mayor@london.gov.uk.
Find your councillors: Enfield, Haringey, Islington, Waltham Forest, Barnet, Camden, Hackney.
Dear Council Leader,
I am writing to you as a concerned and angry resident.
Before the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) signs a construction contract with ACCIONA on 18 January, please CALL AN EMERGENCY COUNCIL MEETING and call to PAUSE THE CONTRACT SIGNING, until you have commissioned and published independent assessments of the social, economic and environmental impacts for our borough.
The new incinerator will be built in a deprived and diverse area, where people are already at higher risk from air pollution. Toxic pollution from the new incinerator will cause LIFE-SHORTENING ILLNESSES.
The incinerator is also an environmental disaster; it is predicted to emit 700 thousand tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere every year – the single largest source of carbon emissions in North London. It is unjustifiable in the middle of a CLIMATE EMERGENCY.
North London has some of the lowest recycling rates in the country. There is huge scope to REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE much more of our black bag waste instead of burning it. Use the money you plan to invest in the incinerator to create a modern waste management system.
The NLWA has failed to inform people in Edmonton and the wider area about the incinerator rebuild, rightly fearing that openness and scrutiny would allow local people express their resistance to the new incinerator.
It was clear at the NLWA meeting on 16 December that the council has FAILED to independently assess the NLWA proposals by considering alternatives. Meanwhile, there is a clear conflict of interest at the NLWA itself. The chair and two senior staff are also directors of the private company, London Energy Ltd, that stands to benefit from a new incinerator.
The coalition of voices against this incinerator expansion already includes MPs from all parties, doctors, scientists, community groups and residents. The signing of the contract will only strengthen the campaign against the incinerator, as more people become aware of the injustice inflicted on them by their council and the NLWA. All councillors that support this decision will face consequences at the LOCAL ELECTIONS this May.
Instead of choosing environmental racism and climate disaster, I demand you show vision and create a waste management system fit for a world in the grip of a public health crisis, environmental racism and a climate emergency. Call an emergency council meeting NOW and demand that the contract signing is paused.
Yours sincerely
We are currently planning our next action or protest. Please check back soon or follow us on social media.
If you live in Edmonton you can use this template letter to write to your local councillor and copy in the London Mayor.
To find your councillors in Edmonton/Enfield go to https://governance.enfield.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx
Dear Councillor / Mayor of London, (delete as appropriate)
I am a resident of Edmonton, North London and have only just become aware of the NLWA’s plan to replace the current incinerator with a new, much bigger version which will burn rubbish that could otherwise be recycled. I am deeply concerned for several reasons:
Incinerators in the UK are three times more likely to be built in deprived and diverse areas such as Edmonton; deprivation and diversity are two factors that have been proven to INCREASE the health risk factors associated with air pollution – indeed, as the recent inquest into the cause of death of Ella Kissi-Debrah has proven – air pollution can KILL. I am therefore deeply concerned the emissions from this new incinerator, and from the increased lorry transport to it, will cause serious harm to the health of myself and my loved ones.
The North London Waste Authority, who are in charge of the rebuild, comprises of seven boroughs in total, which include much higher income areas such as Islington, Highgate and Barnet. Why therefore, has Edmonton been selected for this development, an area least likely to be able to cope with the additional damage to the health of its community?
The incinerator is also an environmental disaster; it is predicted to emit 700 thousand tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere every year. If this waste was recycled instead of burnt, this could simply be avoided. As it is now widely accepted that we are in the midst of a climate crisis, the decision to increase emissions is impossible to understand.
Finally –- I have only just become aware of the project – even though it was granted planning permission several years ago. As a local resident I should have been informed of such a giant infrastructure project happening on my doorstep and been given the opportunity to object. If there was a public consultation, I knew nothing about it and question how extensive it actually was.
Time is running out as the site is already being cleared in preparation for the build. As my elected representative, please demand that the council and the NLWA pause & review the re-build before it’s too late and hold an independent review of all the options for managing North London’s waste, including a genuine consultation with local residents. This is the last chance to prevent even more irreparable, deadly damage to my local community.
Yours sincerely
Please sign our petition asking the councils of the seven London boroughs of Enfield, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Camden, Islington and Barnet to Stop the Edmonton incinerator: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-edmonton-incinerator-now
In addition to the petition, we are printing flyers to distribute in the local community next to the incinerator who have never been properly informed about the incinerator rebuild and are not aware of the project. If you can, please support us by helping us fund the printing of the flyers. https://uk.gofundme.com/f/rtjhym-help-prevent-the-disastrous-edmonton-incinerator.
You are welcome to copy and paste this letter in your email or use it to write your own version:
Dear Councillor and NLWA member / Mayor of London,
I am a resident of Waltham Forest, North London and have only just become aware of the NLWA’s plan to replace the existing Edmonton incinerator with a new, much bigger version which will burn rubbish that could otherwise be recycled. I am deeply concerned for several reasons:
Incinerators in the UK are three times more likely to be built in deprived and diverse areas such as Edmonton; deprivation and diversity are two factors that have been proven to INCREASE the health risk factors associated with air pollution – indeed, as the recent inquest into the cause of death of Ella Kissi-Debrah has proven – air pollution can KILL. Waltham Forest is downwind of the incinerator and will suffer from its toxic dust emissions, and I am deeply concerned it will cause serious harm to the health of myself and my loved ones.
The North London Waste Authority, who are in charge of the rebuild, comprises seven boroughs in total, which include much higher income areas such as Islington, Highgate and Barnet. Why therefore, has Edmonton been selected for this development, an area least likely to be able to cope with the additional damage to the health of its community?
The incinerator is also an environmental disaster; it is predicted to emit 700 thousand tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere every year. If this waste was recycled instead of burnt, this could simply be avoided. As it is now widely accepted that we are in the midst of a climate crisis, the decision to increase emissions is impossible to understand.
Finally – I have only just become aware of the project – even though it was granted planning permission several years ago. As an affected local resident I should have been informed of such a giant infrastructure project happening on my doorstep and been given the opportunity to object. If there was a public consultation, I knew nothing about it and question how extensive it actually was.
Time is running out as the site is already being cleared in preparation for the build. As my elected representative, please demand that the council and the NLWA pause the re-build before it’s too late,and hold an independent review of all the options for managing North London’s waste, including a genuine consultation with local residents. This is the last chance to prevent even more irreparable, deadly damage to my local community.
Yours faithfully