Zero Waste Meeting 27/07/2010: Coventry Friends of the Earth and Climate Change Solutions, who are also based in Coventry, have initiated a Zero Waste Project that is quickly gaining momentum. There is a meeting planned for July 27th at the Coventry Council House. Click here for more information

Post Election 16/07/2010: There has been an amazing shift in attitudes from the councils since the election and finally the hard campaigning seems to be paying off. The new Labour Council went public in the Coventry Telegraph to say they were not going to grant planning permission for a new incinerator at this time. The leader of Coventry City Council, John Mutton has indicated that they would prefer to look at refurbishing the current incinerator as opposed to building a new one. This would give the council far more to time to investigate greener more efficient technologies to replace the incinerator in the long term.

The Conservatives in Coventry who spear-headed the campaign to replace the current incinerator with another have now done a u-turn on this position and have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to advise him that government money allocated to support a new PFI Incinerator in Coventry should be withheld.

Meanwhile in Solihull the new lib-dem/labour coalition have announced they would like to achieve 60% recycling and have suggested they would be against the proposal to build an incinerator.

John Daly, the Director of the management company, Project Transform, looking after the Incinerator Project was quoted in yesterday’s Coventry Telegraph “Looking back we could say maybe it wasn’t a good use of money, but at the time we spent it we were working to a plan approved by the three councils. Until we get formal notification from the councils we must just carry on.” See the full report.

Despite this optimism the decision still hangs in the balance and CRACIN will keep up the pressure and continue to campaign.

Local Elections - Vote Against the Incinerator 14/04/2010: The local and general elections will occur on the 06th May. Now would be a great time for letting candidates know your feelings on any plans to build a new incinerator that will result in us burning our waste until 2043. The parties in Coventry who have publicly spoken against the Incinerator are the Green Party and The Socialists. The Parties who are in favour of building a new incinerator are The Conservatives and Labour. Unlike Warwickshire, the Lib Dems in Coventry have taken a low profile on the issue. To find out who your local candidates are click here

Gosford Green Residents join CRACIN 14/04/2010: After a presentation by CRACIN last night at the Gosford Green Residents Group meeting, there was a vote at the end of the evening to affiliate themselves with CRACIN. The outcome was unanimous and CRACIN welcomes the Gosford Green Residents Group to the Coalition. As a community they will now be able to stand alongside the Charterhouse Residents Group in opposing plans to build a bigger incinerator in their area.

Warwickshire County Council Debate and vote on Controversial Burner 30/03/2010: On the 30th March Warwickshire County Council debated a motion put forward by the Lib Dems to halt the procurement process for a joint residual waste facility and to develop joint alternatives to incineration based on medium/long term strategies for residual waste disposal. Unfortunately this was voted down by the Conservatives and Labour and the battle continues. However it is a good sign that local politicians are starting to take notice and discuss the issues

Telegraph article on new recycling scheme 27/10/2009: Read the Coventry Telegraph's article on the new recycling scheme within Coventry with comments from the Council and CRACIN.

The latest proposed site map 27/10/2009: At last week’s bidders day for the new waste plant, a map was presented to the attendees of the proposed site. The council will apply for outline planning permission with an application going in at the start of 2010. They will hope that the outcome of the planning application be determined by August 2010. For it be approved they need the area to be moved out of the green belt designation. The loss of a green belt area like this which is unusual in terms of its closeness to the to the city centre would be of detriment to the community and Coventry’s wildlife.

Public Meeting Film Clips 27/10/2009: See the clips from the Public meeting. DVDs of the event are available which cover the whole meeting including the questions from the floor. These cost £3. The money will go towards the campaign fund. If you would like to purchase one use the contact form to send an email to indicate that you would like to do so

Public Meeting 06/10/2009: Due to a u-turn by Project Transform, the management team responsible to replace the current incinerator, on their agreement to attend a public debate, the debate will now become a public meeting. This will be held on the 06/10/2009 7.15pm at Queens Road Baptist Church, Coventry (click the above link for further details). To see a map of the location, click here: Location. An attempt has also made been to invite the current operators of the incinerator so that a fair representation from either side of the divide would be present, but this offer was also refused. As no qualified person is prepared to defend the incineration project there will now be expert featured speakers talking about the issues in the form of a public meeting rather than a debate. See the Coventry Telegraph article on Project Transform’s attempts to shut down the debate.

Treasury gives go ahead 13/08/2009: The Treasury gives their approval to Coventry's Waste PFI bid.

Secretive Treasury panel meet to approve “rubbish” waste contracts 20/05/2009: Waste campaigners from across England including members of CRACIN protested outside the Treasury on Tuesday 19th May ahead of a closed meeting where officials were expected to commit millions of public money to controversial Private Finance Incentive (PFI) waste contracts.

CRACIN's Response to the Outline Business Case 23/01/2009: This document outlines some of our concerns about the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire residual waste PFI which was sent to DEFRA in the form of a letter.

The councils have overstated the amount of waste that needs disposal and understated likely future recycling. The project as it stands does not have the support of the Warwickshire's Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee who unanimously voted that the officers should review the recycling rate. The PFI does not represent good value for the UK taxpayer or the environment as it is scaled to undermine the massive recycling potential in Warwickshire and perpetuate the poor recycling record of Coventry City Council

Outline Business Case 23/01/2009: Download the Outline Business Case submitted by Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire County Council to DEFRA with a view to obtaining PFI credits to build a 305,000 Tonne incinerator in Whitley, Coventry.

Ecologist Report for Proposed Incinerator Site 23/01/2009: Read an ecologist's report undertaken on the site in 2007, which highlights a number of rare plants and insects as well as the historical Pinley Farm Pond that has been there since the early 19th century.

Proposed Site of New Incinerator 30/10/2008: The designated site for the proposed incinerator has been revealed. Unused allotments and a conservation area would be built upon.

Outline Business Case Approved 29/10/2008: Plans to submit an Outline Business Case to apply for PFI credits were approved yesterday bringing us a step closer to having a new Incinerator built in Coventry. £800,000 of taxpayers money is to be spent on this process

16/09/2008: At the Charterhouse residents group meeting last night it was unanimously agreed that any development of a new Incinerator should be opposed. It was also agreed that the group would join CRACIN. The strength of feeling at the meeting was high. People were not only concerned with the potential depreciation of the air quality from emissions made from the incinerator and heavy goods vehicles shipping the waste in but also the implications to Coventry City rate payers being burdened with a PFI contract. A PFI contact would tie us into a commitment of burning waste not just from Coventry, but also from Solihull and Warwickshire, for many years to come.

16/09/2008: The Coventry Socialist Party, who also attended the above meeting, have now officially joined the coalition and will be standing against the proposed “super-incinerator”.

16/09/2008: New opportunities are arising nationally to recycle different grades of plastic bottles rather than sending them up in smoke. Read todays report in the Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/environment

09/09/2008: Take the CRACIN Questionnaire and win Prizes. Coventry Council is carrying out a Waste Strategy Consultation which will end on November 10th 2008. Their questionnaire is available on the council website.

The council consultation does not include discussion on alternatives to waste incineration or many other vital concerns; such as whether their present plan to mix together recyclable waste (‘co-mingle’) will reduce the levels and value of recycled material. The CRACIN questionnaire provides the opportunity for Coventry residents to contribute their views on these important points.

29/08/2008: Coventry City Council Online Questionnaire
Coventry City Council have finally started the process of writing their long overdue waste strategy. In an effort to consult the public they have devised an online questionnaire. Click on the link to tell them what you think about their proposed plan to build a new and bigger incinerator in the comments box at the end of the questionnaire.

27/08/2008: Midlands Today Report on MBT See Article

08/07/2008: Letter from CRACIN campaigner, Jane Green, printed in the Coventry Evening Telegraph. See letter here