Lincolnshire Council to Reroute Incinerator Waste Lorries from Rural Roads

Lincolnshire County Council has unveiled plans to prevent lorries transporting waste for incineration from using villages and rural routes within the county. The council is currently seeking a new contractor responsible for moving thousands of tonnes of waste, collected from various transfer stations across Lincolnshire, to the incineration facility located in North Hykeham, near Lincoln. During a meeting, councillors emphasized the necessity of restricting these lorries to A-roads to reduce their effect on less developed regions. Martin Hill, the council leader, described these proposals as “common sense.” The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the council’s executive meeting on Tuesday heard that 116 journeys are presently made each week to the incineration facility. Councillor Ian Carrington stated: “The HGVs should follow clear routing plans. They will be asked to keep to the A-roads and out of rural villages and roads, except in exceptional circumstances such as roadworks and floods.“It’s essential we minimise the harmful impact,” he added. The council leader expressed approval for the proposals. He also addressed media claims that generating electricity by burning household waste had become “the dirtiest way” the UK produces power since the last coal-fired power station ceased operations. Hill commented: “It seems like a lazy assumption that incineration is bad. This is efficient and has a minimal impact on the environment,” Hill said.“We must do something with our waste – we might as well turn it into electricity,” he added. The council indicated that the facility diverts approximately 93% of the county’s waste from landfills and generates sufficient electricity to supply 27,000 households.