ESSEX County council has been accused of “greenwashing” the public over its expected controversial incinerator near Braintree as new analysis finds giant incinerators are now the “dirtiest way” the UK generates power.

A major data analysis from the BBC that examined five years of national data found that burning waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power – a form of energy abandoned by the UK last month.

In August, Essex County Council provisionally award 337,000 tones to Indaver Rivenhall Limited, meaning all the waste currently being sent to landfill would now be burnt at the plant under construction in Rivenhall.

The contract is due to commence on April 1, 2025, for a seven-year period, with the option to extend by up to seven more years if required.

Green councillor for Silver End and Cressing on Braintree Council James Abbott said: “It is extremely disappointing that Indaver and ECC and both are supposed to be impartial but both have been greenwashing the public.

“This is the wrong way, it locks the county council in for years and years and years ahead for hundreds and thousands of tonnes to be burnt.

“It will be an environmental nightmare, and the main thing is that the report found burning waste is similar to burning coal in its effects which completely justified what campaigners have said for two decades.”

Issues - Councillor James Abbott also mentioned the 400 lorry movement a day, HGV, on top of all the extra traffic from development sites and trafficIssues - Councillor James Abbott also mentioned the 400 lorry movement a day, HGV, on top of all the extra traffic from development sites and traffic (Image: Braintree Council) Mr Abbott added: "Essex County Council have bent over backwards to give the entities exactly what they wanted.

"It's a very lucrative contract – how handy is that to have contracts before they start building."

An Indaver spokesman said the company is "committed to diverting non-recyclable waste from landfill via the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) process, in line with the waste hierarchy and associated policy framework".

A spokesman for Essex County Council added: “The priority should always be to reduce waste and maximise recycling and reuse.

“By doing so, we will achieve our ambition of recycling at least 70 per cent of waste by 2035, making Essex a global leader in sustainable waste management.

The spokesman added: “Any remaining black bag waste will be used to generate energy through new residual waste disposal contracts.

“It is estimated that the delivery of these new contracts will result in a reduction in greenhouse gas (CO2 equivalent) emissions by around 30 per cent, when compared to our current landfill disposal arrangements.”

To read the report ECC said informed their strategy read the Final Report from Ricardo Energy and Environment.

For more on indaver, visit indaver.com.