Incinerator Impacts on Climate and Environment
1. Toxins accumulate in the soil, pollute our water, and get absorbed by plants and vegetation. Animals, birds and insects absorb these toxins.
2. POPs, like the dioxins in incinerator ash, cause death, reduced reproduction, cancer, and compromised immunity in mammals, birds and fish.
3. Incineration transforms garbage into more toxic forms of waste. Landfill with methane-gas capture (currently at Bromelton) is a safer option for us and the environment.
4. Incinerators contribute to climate change. They emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour than coal-fired, natural-gas fired, or oil-fired power plants.
5. Cleanaway’s incinerator is not renewable energy. It consumes finite resources (eg plastics and diesel) as fuel, and will discourage recycling.
6. Waste incinerators consume more energy than they produce. Any object incinerated required more energy to make than the heat released when it is burned. Recycling and composting conserves 3 to 5 times more energy than incineration.
7. Waste incinerators are incompatible with a circular economy. They replace one waste stream (residual/commercial/industrial waste) with contaminated ash.
8. Cleanaway say it’s ‘safe’. Cleanaway endangers the health and safety of our environment and communities. Cleanaway breaches licence conditions. Can we trust Cleanaway?
Key References:
Hidden emissions of dioxins from waste incinerators, Arkenbout, ToxicoWatch, 2020
After Incineration: The Toxic Ash Problem, IPEN 2005
The health impacts of waste incineration: a systematic review, Tait et al. Australian & NZ Journal of Public Health, 2020.
An Overview of the Effects of Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds on Vertebrates, as Documented in Human and Ecological Epidemiology, White, Birnbaum, Journal of Environmental Science and Health,
Facts about “waste-to-energy” incinerators. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, 2018.
Greenhouse Gas and Air Quality Impacts of Incineration and Landfill, Eunomia, 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment