Commons Sense

House of Commons · General Debate

Waste Incinerators 2025-11-25

25 November 2025 · 1 other contributor

Opened by Andrew Murrison Con South West Wiltshire

Environment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Andrew Murrison raised concerns about waste incinerators 2025-11-25 in the House of Commons. Other MPs contributed to the debate.

Key points

  • The motion seeks to prohibit construction of new waste incinerators except where substantial work has begun.
  • Imposes a tax on waste incineration and bans 'deliver or pay' contracts between local authorities and incinerator operators.
  • Aims to address overcapacity in waste incineration facilities which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Andrew Murrison Con South West Wiltshire

The motion seeks to prohibit the construction of new waste incinerators except where substantial work has begun, impose a tax on waste incineration, ban 'deliver or pay' contracts between local authorities and incinerator operators, terminate transitional arrangements for food waste collections under the Environment Act 2021, revoke planning permissions for unnecessary incinerators, prohibit further permissions and permits, and encourage higher up the waste hierarchy. The Bill aims to address overcapacity in waste incineration facilities which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions compared to other forms of energy generation.

Other contributors (1)
  • Andrew Murrison Con South West Wiltshire

    The UK has encouraged incineration and discouraged landfill since the introduction of the landfill tax in 1996. Incineration produces more CO2 than landfill, with emissions per unit of energy produced similar to coal and nearly double that of gas. The Government's analysis from December last year confirms excessive capacity for waste incinerators already exists. Local authorities often enter into 'deliver or pay' contracts which penalise them financially if they do not deliver a minimum amount of waste for incineration, leading to less recycling and importing waste just to meet these requirements.

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