SIR,

On Friday 2nd August the Welsh Government quietly announced its approval of a grant totalling over £100m to the Prosiect Gwyrdd incinerator in Cardiff, as reported in this publication a couple of weeks ago.

Unless halted or reversed, this decision will also commit the five local authorities involved, of which Monmouthshire is one, to a further £300m expenditure under contract over the next 25 years.

The decision for Monmouthshire to accept council officers' recommendations and to formally be included in the Prosiect Gwyrdd proposal, was taken at a full council meeting earlier this year, despite councillors having been informed that only one of the four original tenders was still on the table.

The Welsh Government statement makes no reference to any of the valid criticisms made in a Petitions Committee report, and the subsequent Senedd debate.

There is no reference to the concerns expressed by Assembly Members about long term contracts, the need for further health research and the need to encourage alternative technologies.

Nor is there any acknowledgement of the formal complaint made to the Wales Audit Office last February, whose enquiries are said to be continuing.

Welsh Government officials are unable, or unwilling to answer any of the main criticisms and simply parrot a few time-worn untruths about the project being technology neutral and good value for money, compared with the straw man of landfill.

No attempt is made to compare the cost with realistic modern technology such as mechanical and biological treatment, which is the preferred option for much of the south west of England and, more recently, Torfaen.

Furthermore, a cursory glance at waste trends in the UK and western Europe shows that, while the numbers of planned incinerators are growing, residual waste is falling.

There is now, or soon will be, an overcapacity of incinerators. It therefore seems a complete folly to commit to a 25-year contract at a fixed price with guaranteed minimum tonnages when prices are likely to go down in the near future.

At the very least, the contract should be considerably shorter.

The contract is due to be signed with Viridor next month. Please write to your Assembly Members and ask them to insist on further scrutiny before Monmouthshire taxpayers are committed to picking up the bill for this disastrous and environmentally unfriendly scheme.

Ann Were

(Monmouth)