Burning household rubbish now UK’s dirtiest form of power, BBC finds

Nearly half of the rubbish produced in UK homes, including increasing amounts of plastic, is now being incinerated.

Scientists warn it is a disaster for the climate’ - and some are calling for a ban on new incinerators.

Burning waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power.

Nearly half of all incinerators in the UK have managed to get a capacity increase approved by the Environment Agency without applying for a new permit.

The waste they are burning is increasingly made up of plastic, according to local government data.

In April , a temporary ban on permits for new incinerators was introduced in England by the previous Conservative government, but when the ban lapsed in May it was not continued.

Each incinerator in the UK produces annual monitoring reports, which record key statistics associated with the plant including its total emissions.

IPCC recommends that biogenic’ emissions - which come from burning organic matter like food - are not included in calculations because they are recorded under the emissions for the land and forestry sector.

We had to work out what share of the waste being burned was organic.