Too Much Capacity? The Next Question for England’s Incinerators

England’s waste system faces a second problem closely connected to lock-in: capacity. The Government’s statutory 2042 target requires residual waste to fall to 287 kg per person, while the interim target is 437 kg per person by 2030⁠. Defra’s modelling indicates that collection and packaging reforms will contribute towards the reduction, but further policies will be required to close the remaining gap. That matters because incinerators are long-lived assets. If more capacity is built than...