|
BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE
332 Shady Grove Church Road ~
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107 ~ Phone
(336) 769-9198 ~ Email:
davidmickey@bellsouth.net
PRESS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2009
North Carolina Contact:
David Mickey, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League:
(336) 624-2412 (cell)
National Contacts:
Sylvia Broude, +1 (203) 589-9989
Bradley Angel, +1 (415) 722-5270
Monica Wilson, +1 (510) 883-9490 x 103
Despite Green Claims,
Incinerator Industry Is Just Blowing Smoke
New report explains how waste incineration is harmful to
people, the climate, and the economy
Winston-Salem, NC - Today the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League joined seven other groups to release
a report illustrating the negative impacts of new waste
incineration technologies. An Industry Blowing Smoke
concludes that new incineration technologies, like older-style
burners, are expensive, inefficient and contribute to both
climate change and serious public health impacts. The report is
available on the League’s website at: http://www.bredl.org/pdf2/
StopIncinerationBlowingSmoke.pdf
“Since North Carolina adopted renewable energy legislation
in 2007, we have seen a variety of projects proposing to burn
everything from railroad ties and wood waste to poultry litter,”
said David Mickey, Zero Waste Coordinator for the League. “Where
those materials come from, how they are incinerated, and who will
be impacted remain unanswered questions for our state. As An
Industry Blowing Smoke documents, renewable energy
is not necessarily green energy.”
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League is actively opposing
proposals by Fibrowatt, a Pennsylvania company, to incinerate
poultry litter in Surry, Montgomery and Sampson Counties.
"Trash incineration is more carbon-intensive than coal power
and a leading source of dioxins in the United States,"
stated Sylvia Broude Lead Organizer for the Toxics Action Center
in Boston, an environmental and public health non-profit.
"Coming up with new ways to burn garbage is just another
assault on public health and the climate."
In recent months, companies like Covanta, Casella and Waste
Management (Wheelabrator) have launched massive lobbying
campaigns aimed at convincing state and federal governments to
include waste incineration as a renewable source of energy in the
Renewable Electricity Standard in the Waxman-Markey climate bill
- a legislative tool used to help utilities transition from
greenhouse gas-intensive power generation to renewable energy
such as wind and solar.
The waste industry, which relies heavily on government subsidies
and tax credits, is misleadingly marketing a new generation of
incinerator technologies as green technologies. The new report
debunks industry efforts to greenwash gasification, pyrolysis and
plasma incineration, pointing to more sensible directions that
should be considered by decision makers.
"Our communities need comprehensive zero waste plans that
would help stabilize the climate, reduce toxic pollution and
create jobs, not more incinerators in disguise," said
Bradley Angel, Executive Director of Greenaction for Health and
Environmental Justice. Based in San Francisco, Greenaction has
helped dozens of communities across the country stop new
incinerators and landfills and promote safer, more economical
options of recycling and composting. Recently, San Jose, Los
Angeles, Santa Cruz County and Sacramento turned down
gasification and plasma arc incinerator proposals.
According to An Industry Blowing Smoke,
waste incineration competes with, and undermines the huge
potential of green-collar job creation through recycling
programs. According to Dave Ciplet - author of the report -
recycling, re-use and composting create six to ten times the
number of jobs than both waste incineration and landfills.
"These new, expensive incinerators would keep much-needed
funding and resources from being invested in real
solutions," said Mr. Ciplet. "We could be creating
millions of jobs nationwide by turning waste into work!"
"We can take immediate action on both the climate and
economic crisis by rapidly moving towards a materials and energy
efficient economy that does not involve burning or burying
garbage," said Monica Wilson, International Co-Coordinator
for the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance, "Recycling
literally works."
###
Organizations Co-releasing the Report:
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives: www.no-burn.org
Toxics Action Center: www.toxicsaction.org
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice: www.greenaction.org
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League: www.bredl.org
Energy Justice Network: www.energyjustice.net
California Communities Against Toxic
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
Clean Water Action: www.cleanwateraction.org
Members of the Press:
To set up an interview, or if you have any questions, please
contact:
Nationally:
Sylvia Broude, Toxics Action Center, Boston, MA
(203) 589-9989
Bradley Angel, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice,
San Francisco, CA
(415) 722-5270
Monica Wilson, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives,
Berkeley, CA
(510) 883-9490 ext 103
In North Carolina:
David Mickey, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League,
Winston-Salem, NC
(336) 624-2412 (cell)
|