Incineration ? Greens outline the alternatives

At the launch of its position paper on incineration the Green Party today castigated the Government for its plans to build a necklace of incinerators around Ireland. Cullen?s vision of incineration-led waste disposal has bypassed proper planning, defied EU environmental directives and dismissed objectors. The Green Party outlined its alternatives to incineration including better waste management practices and the 'Zero waste' option.
Patricia McKenna MEP, local Green Party TD John Gormley, Cork South Central TD Dan Boyle and local election candidates fighting incineration Claire Wheeler (Pembroke/Dublin City Council), Carol Davis (Slane/Meath County Council) and Dominick Donnelly (Carrigaline/Cork County Council) today outlined why incineration is not the answer to Ireland's mounting waste problems.
Speaking at the launch Dublin's Green MEP Patricia McKenna said that, "The danger is that Ringsend will become a toxic dustbin for the entire country when, as unfortunately seems likely, the incinerator is built."
"In Europe, a metropolitan city such as the UK's Manchester, which has a population comparable to the Republic of Ireland, would normally have only one incinerator. This shows how disproportionate Mr. Cullen's plans are to build seven such incinerators around the country."
Local Green Party TD John Gormley said that, "The proposed Ringsend incinerator will have a capacity for up to 750,000 tonnes of rubbish, even though the Environmental Protection Agency?s latest report (2001) said that the Dublin region generates just 97,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste. Incinerators have to be fed with rubbish to burn at full capacity."
"This means that many thousands of tonnes of rubbish will be transported into Ringsend to feed the proposed incinerator - which will last for 30 years. This will generate huge traffic problems as well as releasing potentially harmful airborne dioxins into the surrounding area. The road space simply does not exist to carry up to 500 trucks a day.?

Cork local election candidate Dominick Donnelly said that, ?Incineration is not necessary and will only come to Ireland due to the ineffective government we have. A vote for the government parties in the upcoming European and local elections is a vote for incineration, which puts the health of the people of Cork and their children at risk."
Local candidate for Meath County Council near the proposed incinerator at Duleek, Carol Davis said that, "The proposed incinerator at Carranstown will not only create ongoing dangers to the health of local residents, but will also impact negatively on our heritage. We must hope that the UNISECO experts who recently visited Slane will find that an incinerator is completely unacceptable in the Boyne Valley.?
Local candidate for Dublin City Council, Claire Wheeler, said that, ?Whether or not we have incineration is a political choice, there are better options available. This Government has done nothing to regulate for waste reduction, which would not cost the taxpayer a penny."
The Green Party believes that the Government's plans to pursue incineration at all costs is wrong and the way in which planning approvals for incinerators have been granted to date is contrary to EU law. A delegation led by Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna, John Gormley TD, Dan Boyle TD will meet with officials from Environment Commissioner Margot Walstrom's office on Friday, April 30, to make a formal complaint on this issue.
Dan Boyle Cork South Central TD said that, ?It's important that we keep up the political pressure, particularly demanding that the European Commission ensures that the Irish Government lives up to its responsibilities in allowing proper public consultation and appropriate standards of environmental protection."
"Irish legislation governing waste installations including incinerators is in breach of EU law because it prevents an integrated Environmental Impact Assessment. Local people are prevented from raising health and environmental concerns in the planning process," said Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna.
" Brussels has decided this is in breach of EU law and is preparing a case for the European Court of Justice. However, EU law enforcement is a slow process and winning in the European Court will be a hollow victory if the incinerators have been built in the meantime," Ms McKenna concluded.
Note:Green Party Alternatives to Incineration
The Greens oppose incineration because rather than eliminate waste it encourages waste production and in the process creates dangerous, health threatening toxic by-products, which then have to be dumped. It's also an inefficient method of producing energy.
The Green Party's approach is in line with the EU's waste framework. This puts reduce, reuse and recycle at the top of waste management strategies and incineration and landfill as the least preferable options.
Environment Minister Martin Cullen displays his own ignorance of the zero waste concept with his Paul Daniels comments. The Green Party believes that a good waste prevention and minimisation programme would eliminate or recycle a large percentage of waste. The remaining residual waste could be stabilised by means of anaerobic digestion and land-filled.
Zero waste views 'waste' as a potential resource to be recycled and reused, with opportunities for creating employment and improving our environment. A Zero Waste strategy includes measures like obliging producers to use clean production methods, to take responsibility for the full life cycle of their products, and to employ recyclable and reusable packaging.
A delegation led by Green MEP Patricia McKenna will meet with officials from Environment Commissioner Margot Walstrom's office on Friday (April 30) to make a formal complaint on this issue. The delegation includes Dan Boyle T.D from Cork and representatives of CHASE, John Gormley T.D South Dublin and Bill Ralph of the Combined Residents Against an Incinerator from Ringsend and Pat O'Brien a representative of the Meath No Incineration Alliance.