Glengormley waste incinerator: MPs opposing £240m project

Ten Northern Ireland MPs have written to Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon to oppose a £240m waste incinerator on the edge of Belfast.

In the letter the Sinn Féin, Alliance Party and SDLP MPs said they had "real concerns" about the project.

They said while it would be privately financed it would ultimately be paid for by council ratepayers.

And they cautioned Ms Mallon against allowing councils to be locked into long-term waste contracts.

The project at Glengormley, County Antrim would see a recycling plant and adjacent waste incinerator deal with black bin waste from six councils.

The letter is the latest intervention by Northern Ireland MPs in the controversial planning application.

In March the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) eight MPs wrote to Ms Mallon calling for the project to be approved.

One of them - Paul Girvan - later wrote to the minister to say the letter did not reflect his views.

The cross-party group of MPs opposing the application said waste technology, waste composition and recycling policies had all moved on since the project was first conceived 15 years ago.

Their letter was welcomed by campaigners against the project.

Northern Ireland recycles about half its household waste, with an ambition to meet higher targets.

About a quarter of it is landfilled but capacity for that is running out.

The rest is exported for incineration.

Supporters of the incinerator claim it could increase recycling rates by recovering recyclable material which currently goes to landfill.

They have claimed failure to build the plant will leave Northern Ireland "drifting into a waste crisis".

Objectors have claimed waste could end up being imported to make the plant financially viable.