Health and Environment FAQ

Health and Environment Information

1. Who will regulate the BeAR Energy from Waste facility?

The Environment Agency will monitor the performance of the EfW facility on a regular basis and will have access to all emissions testing and monitoring results.

2. Isn't ash from the EfW process dangerous?

The Environment Agency has classified Incinerator Bottom Ash as non-hazardous which means that after processing it is safe to be used by the construction industry in a range of areas, such as road construction. Air Pollution Control Residues, including fly ash, which are not suitable for reuse are collected and sent to special waste landfill.

3. Doesn't EfW produce high levels of dioxins?

Production of dioxins from modern EfW facilities is very small and have a negligible contribution to background levels. Cars, fireworks and domestic cooking and heating cause more dioxins and CO2 emissions than EfW facilities, which are strictly monitored by the Environment Agency.

4. Will the emissions make me ill?

The government's Waste Strategy 2007 concluded that "research carried out to date shows no credible evidence of adverse health outcomes for those living near incinerators" (WS2007,Chapter 5, paragraph 23).

The UK Health Protection Agency also investigated this matter and stated ‘Incinerators emit pollutants into the environment but provided they comply with modern regulatory requirements, such as the Waste Incineration Directive, they should contribute little to the concentrations of monitored pollutants in ambient air.’ 

If you have any questions not answered in this section, please email us at bearproject@bedscc.gov.uk| with FAQ in your subject header