RE: [greenyes] Waste-to-Energy

[Helen Spiegelman <hspie@no.address>]

This query will provoke lots of replies. WTE is discredited only to rise 
"phoenix-like" from the ashes of public opprobrium and be hailed as the 
solution to the landfill problem.

Here in BC, the government is proposing that alternatives be subject to 
"science-based" comparison. This includes the traditional "3R hierarchy" of 
management systems BEFORE landfilling & WTE.

Peter Montague and Paul Connett spent so many years providing, week after 
week, science-based evidence of the perils of WTE. With their work over the 
past two decades (!) citizens were able to block incinerator/WTE projects.

I wonder if they can steer us to a single, easy-to-read, uptto-date 
publication where the arguments are set out in a way that can be passed 
forward to the public and elected officials.

Helen.

At 10:39 AM 3/8/2004, Sharon_Gates@no.address wrote:
> Dear GreenYes-
> I hesitate to raise this issue, but here goes.  The City I serve sends its
> refuse to a waste-to-energy plant.  I'm conflicted about the relative
> environmental impacts of landfilling vs. WTE.  It is my understanding that
> our WTE plant meets Air Quality Management District standards.  Obviously,
> the AQMD does not regulate everything, and you only know about the
> emissions that you test for.  WTE has more immediate impacts from what is
> coming out of the stacks, as compared to the more long-term (and
> uncertain) groundwater and other impacts from landfilling.  But is it
> possible to truly label one of these as the lesser of two evils?  Is one
> really lesser?
>
> I am personally fully committed to zero waste.  However, the City that I
> serve continues to generate "waste" and this is an issue I have to deal
> with on a daily basis.
>
> When you respond to this post, please do so gently.  I am not responsible
> for my City's policies, for WTE in general, or for much else in this
> world.  Please do not offer suggestions as to how to get rid of our WTE
> plant.  I'm really looking narrowly at the lesser-of-two-evils question.
>
> Sharon Gates
> Recycling Specialist
> City of Long Beach, California
> 562/570-4694