Waste incinerator gets environmental green light

The incinerator could burn up to 450,000 tonnes of waste a year

A controversial waste incinerator has received a permit from the Environment Agency (EA).

Campaigners had previously claimed the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF), which will be built at Teesworks in Grangetown, Redcar, would be "unfair and dangerous".

Seven local authorities across north-east England will use the facility, burning up to 450,000 tonnes of waste per year, to generate energy, according to plans.

EA official Ian Preston said he wanted to "reassure" people that the permit ensured "robust levels" of environmental protections would be met. Developer Viridor declined to comment.

The EA said permits were only issued if it was satisfied the operator would be able to comply and had "appropriate systems" in place to run the incinerator "without causing harm to the environment, human health or wildlife".

The move follows the EA launching a second consultation over the plans in May.

The body held its first consultation over whether or not to grant an environmental permit to the project late last year.

Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility will take waste from seven councils

The incinerator, which already has planning permission, is yet to be built. It is understood it will be up and running in late 2029.

The site will take waste from homes in Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, as well as Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland council areas.

Newcastle City Council's director of operations and regulatory services previously said there were no "affordable alternative" to the plans.

Campaign group Stop Incineration North East had previously protested against the incinerator arguing that people's waste should be recycled rather than burned.

Project partners from TVERF previously said facilities like the planned Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator were a "reliable and safe technology" which had been subject to "intense regulatory and academic scrutiny over decades of operation".

"The project represents the safest, most reliable and most sustainable way to manage our region's residual waste," they said.