Firework displays are more environmentally damaging than energy-from-waste plants.

That’s the suggestion from waste management firm Indaver, which claims despite public concerns regarding the pollution risks from rubbish-burning power generators, energy-from-waste plants are highly regulated and have strict emissions limits.

It says emissions from any single bonfire or firework displays, which serve no practical benefit to compensate for any air pollution caused, can produce a surprising amount of environmental damage.

For example, it suggests during the Millennium celebrations in London, the emissions from the 15-minute, 35-ton firework display were equivalent to 120 years of dioxin emissions from a waste incinerator facility.

The organisation adds that in an entire year, the Energy Recovery industry produces only a sixth of the dioxins produced by a single 5th of November bonfire night.