Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) health, and (2) environmental, implications of the disposal of plastic waste by incineration.

All energy-from-waste plants in England are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must comply with the strict emissions limits set down in legislation. The EA will only grant a permit if they are satisfied that the proposal would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health. When the EA receives a permit application for a new plant, they carry out a comprehensive air quality modelling assessment of emissions from the plant and consult the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for their views on the application.

The UKHSA’s position is that modern, well run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. UKHSA will continue to review its advice in light of any new substantial research on the health effects of incinerators published in peer-reviewed journals. To date, UKHSA is not aware of any evidence that requires a change in the position statement.