London Against Incineration
Edmonton, North London, has the misfortune of being home to Britain's largest incinerator. It sits beside the north circular, a menace to local residents. In defiance of widespread opposition, the government plans to enlarge this blot on the landscape as part of its bizarre, incinerator friendly waste policy.

London Against Incineration was formed by local residents determined to resist the planned expansion and to campaign for closure of the plant. The group sees this double aim as inseparable from a shift toward a zero-waste policy based on reduction, re-use and re-cycling.

The environmental and health hazards of producing and then burning waste are now widely recognised. Yet London Waste Ltd, who run the Edmonton monstrosity, boast impeccable environmental credentials. Their glossy PR brochure 'Energy from Waste' claims the proposed enlargement 'will make a significant contribution to the reduction of air pollution in the United Kingdom. By displacing other forms of energy production, emissions of dust, sulphur dioxide, cardon dioxide, hydrogen chloride and oxides of nitrogen can be reduced.' However, this list does not include dioxins, the seriously toxic products of burning chlorinated substances such as PVC. Dioxins are associated with cancer, birth defects and other conditions and incinerators are a well-known source - scarcely surprising that London Waste would rather not discuss them.

London Waste is a 50/50 joint venture established by the North London Waste Authority, representing seven boroughs, and Sita, a French multinational - the same company that recently lost the Brighton refuse collection contract (see www.schnews.org/archive/news308.htm).

London Waste has a vested interest in expanding incineration, and continues to promote it in the face of mounting informed opposition. But the Edmonton incinerator is now established as the site of successful direct action. In June the five Greenpeace activists who climbed the chimney and shut down the plant for six days last October were cleared in court of criminal damage charges.

More info on: www.londonagainstincineration.moonfruit.com
David Binns

Rising Tide UK Gathering
Rising Tide is a diverse network of grassroots activists taking direct action to combat climate chaos locally, natioanlly and internationally.

The Rising Tide UK national gathering will take place on 13-14 October in the inspiring new Bridge 5 Mill environment centre in Manchester. The weekend will be a vital and empowering opportunity for all those already taking action to tackle climate change, as well as people who want to become more involved, to meet, learn and plan strategically for the coming year and beyond.

Contact Rising Tide UK - 01865 241097 info@risingtide.org.uk website www.risingtide.org.uk.

Stop it, for peat's sake!
Thorne and Hatfield Moors once formed part of the biggest lowland raised peat bog in the country. It was called a 'raised bog' because peat acts like a sponge, so when it's wet it rises up and used to reach up to 8m in height. Now however, there's very little left, thanks to peat extraction (milling) by US-based horticultural company Scotts for use in compost.

Peat is used as compost for its water retaining quality, but is very nutrient-poor and acidic. This means that in its natural state it forms a very specific and rare habitat. Due to the fact that bogs are inherently dangerous and are therefore largely undisturbed, there are about 5,500 species of invertebrates (1/5th of the entire British fauna) on Thorne and Hatfield along with the UK's largest carnivorous plant. Unfortunately, this biodiversity is limited to the conservation areas - the milling fields have been turned into a desert.

Peat milling can only be done when the peat is dry enough to support heavy machinery, generally from Easter until late September. The major distributor is Securicor Omega, although there are many smaller ones. The site is owned by English Nature, but has been leased to peat miners since the 1950s.

Currently the site is awaiting Special Area of Conservation (SAC) status from Europe. If it receives it, all milling will have to stop - after Scotts has gone through an appeal process, defending its statutory rights (and even Human Rights under the new Act) - which could take up to 7 years. Doncaster Council will not withdraw mineral extraction permissions before this, as they say they would be liable for tens of millions of pounds in compensation.

Local campaigners are fighting a constant rearguard action to try and preserve as much peat depth as we can until Scotts are finally stopped. This means:
• direct action to stop the milling and processing machinery and to slow down distribution
• leafleting garden centres and general media blitzing to stop the public buying peat
• lobbying and demos to stop garden centres selling peat
• lobbying municipal and other commercial peat users to go peat-free
• targeting Scotts' suppliers and customers to limit their involvement in the industry
• direct action at Scotts' offices in the UK and retail outlets in the US, to get them to convert to peat-free production. Scotts already produce a peat-free compost at their processing works.

More info on the campaign from Leeds EF! 0113 262 3536, leedsef@ukf.net or from Friends of the Earth UK. Action pack available, send a large SAE worth 66p to Bog Off Scotts, c/o Cornerstone Resource Centre, 16 Sholebroke Avenue, LEEDS LS7 3HB.

If bombing starts
protest in Trafalgar Square. Further peace demo updates at www.uk.indymedia.org or contact CND 0207 700 2393, 162 Holloway Rd. London N7