CONCEYU CONTRA LA INCINERACIÓN

The Conceyu against Incineration of Asturias was established as a platform in 1992 with the aim of fighting against the installation and operation of waste incineration plants. At that time, the Consortium for Waste Management of Asturias (COGERSA) was initiating plans for an incinerator to start operating for hospital waste. We knew that the Government of Asturias had a project to build a sewage sludge incineration plant and plans were also in place for the installation of a large urban waste incineration plant at the COGERSA complex in Serín for the burning of 450,000 tonnes.

With a strong commitment to information and awareness-raising, the Conceyu has carried out numerous informational campaigns, open meetings, and talks and gatherings to raise awareness of the historical issues surrounding incineration in Asturias.

ALL our work is voluntary, thanks to dedicated individuals who devote their time and effort to this cause. Similarly, with a very small budget, which comes from donations from member associations and entities, as well as individuals, we work miracles, but we know that having financial resources is crucial, and that's why we continue to move forward with this new campaign.

NO TO INCINERATION - 30 YEARS OF SOCIAL FIGHT

Our work and commitment has been clear: to condemn waste incineration as a highly polluting activity, scientifically proven to endanger human health. We advocate for an alternative waste management model in Asturias that aligns with the European principles of Prevention, Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling, ultimately striving for a ZERO WASTE model. We believe it is essential to fight for the protection of our health, to minimise the environmental impact of waste disposal, to preserve valuable raw materials and resources, and to dedicate efforts to selective collection, recovery, and recycling in a real and efficient manner.

In 2005, after a decade of work, the major threat of installing an incinerator for the burning of 310,000 tonnes emerged, violating European legal frameworks. This situation required significant efforts to raise awareness among people, the initiation of important legal actions, and a significant mobilisation. The construction of the incinerator was awarded in 2010, but in 2011 we succeeded in halting it in court due to the lack of an appropriate Waste Plan.

In 2015, the COGERSA board, with a majority linked to the governing party in Asturias (PSOE), issued the contract for external assistance to draft the project for the construction of another future incinerator of 220,000 tonnes. Once again, we found ourselves obliged to file an Administrative Litigation Appeal against the Strategic Waste Plan of the Principality of Asturias (PERPA), which provided cover for mass incineration. We succeeded in having it annulled by the Supreme Court, a great success that allowed us to demand the definitive abandonment of waste incineration and to denounce the incompetence of COGERSA's management and an Asturian government determined to pursue the worst possible option for the management of waste.

In 2017, the Asturian central government finally abandons the Serín incineration plant in the new Waste Strategic Plan of Asturias 2017-2024. It's a moment of change, as COGERSA announces the construction of a large plant for treating residual waste (black bag) and the production of Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), which will undergo chemical treatment preferably. All this while various waste plans systematically fail to meet the recycling and recovery objectives proposed by Europe.

In 2019, a new threat emerges: the burning of this SRF at the La Pereda thermal power plant (Mieres) and the Aboño cement factory (Gijón), which has been denounced for its serious impact on health and for the destruction of materials that are recoverable, directly conflicting with the new European policies of Circular Economy and common sense.

These past years of dedication and watchfulness have brought us to this point. In 2023, we lodged our final legal challenge against SRF incineration, only for it to be dismissed. This has put us back on alert due to Asturias' long standing historical environmental contamination issues.

Organisations member of the Conceyu: