The High Court hearing for R(Georgia Elliott-Smith) vs Secretary of State BEIS has been confirmed as 14th & 15th April 2021. Due to the pandemic it will be held online and anyone is welcome to attend. You can get the link by emailing listoffice@administrativecourtoffice.justice.gov.uk quoting the court reference CO/3093/2020.

If you do wish to watch the proceedings online, please remember to mute yourself and switch off your camera. Recording any part of the proceedings (audio and/or visuals) is not permitted. Full guidance on hearing protocol is here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmcts-telephone-and-video-hearings-during-coronavirus-outbreak

In the meantime, for those who haven’t seen it, click this link for the funniest moment from the pandemic’s online court hearings. Now how do I switch off this cat filter? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-56005428

An investigation by Unearthed finds that waste incinerators are three times more likely to be built in the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods than in the least, and that people of colour are overrepresented in the neighbourhoods where existing incinerators are sited.

Nearly half of all incinerators seeking planning consent are on track to be built in the UK’s top 25% most deprived neighbourhoods.

September 2020: A legal challenge has been launched against the UK government’s decision to exclude waste incinerators from the national post-Brexit carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS).

November 2020: XR Zero Waste have written an open letter to Boris Johnson demanding transition to a circular economy and an end to excessive waste incineration. Signed by hundreds of campaigners, NGOs, MPs and peers, it provides an extensive annex of supporting scientific data – essential reading for anyone interested in the issues. Read the letter and add your name here.

August 2020: The Guardian reports on the legal challenge to bring waste incinerators into the scope of the UK carbon emissions trading scheme.