Is EfW/ERF safe?
EfW is considered by the UK Department of Health to be environmentally safe, and to pose virtually no risk to health. The Royal Commission on Environmental Protection (RCEP) says that EfW/ERF offers a long-term, secure and environmentally acceptable Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) for treating residual municipal waste. EfW has been described as “posing a risk to human health which is small in comparison with other known risks”. (DEFRA). In other EU countries where EfW/ERF plays a more significant role in waste management, the process is also considered safe. In fact, a recent report from the German Federal Government says that “without EfW/ERF plants, there would be more pollutants in the air” in Germany. That’s because many pollutants are already in waste and, having entered EfW/ERF plants with the waste, are extracted during the emissions filtering process. According to the Dutch Government, “EfW/ERF plants in rural areas have no damaging effect on agricultural products”
