We have a few problems with how this is all taking place. All the "public information sessions" so far as well as those planned for the future, so far as we know, are being held by the proponents of incineration. We want to hear the other side, not just from the proponents, the project management team. How about hearing the cons as well as the pros? And yes, there are many negatives to incineration.
- Incinerators are the largest single source of dioxin, a substance so toxic that it has no known threshold where it is no longer considered toxic.
- The fly ash from the incinerators is highly toxic and needs to be put in a secure landfill. Toxins can also leech into the water table and soil from these new "landfills" created to handle the residue after the burning process.
- Climate change is an big issue today, and incinerators emit substantial amounts of fossil carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, even with the new "scrubber" technology.
- What about the increased traffic, degradation of infrastructure due to increased truck traffic on the roads, concentrated within a small area just off Hwy 401 in Clarington?
- Increased truck traffic must also be addressed in relation to safety and children's soccer fields in the case of the Courtice location.
- Halifax and Edmonton are examples of communities using alternative approaches to manage waste that do not include incineration and that are achieving high diversion rates. We should be looking to better alternatives instead of jumping to incinerators, with their inherent problems.
- What happens if Clarington is not a "willing host"? Will we be forced to host the incinerator in one of the populated areas that have made the short list?
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is still a much better solution than incineration, if it were taken more seriously. We must question the health implications and the potential for contamination of land, air and water, as well as livestock and food. We must also remember that waste disposal and health care costs go hand-in-hand.
We need to be progressive and put the responsibility back onto the manufacturer and the packaging they produce. We should make the manufacturers of packaging responsible for reducing their packaging and for collecting and recycling the remainder. Adding more pollution to the air and land by building an incinerator, especially so close to a populated area, makes no sense at all.
The next step is to attend one of the two scheduled public information sessions to be held in Clarington (both in Bowmanville). Then it will be time to ask more questions and to seek more information on the true benefits vs hazards of a waste incinerator. Hopefully we will find out which technology will be used, the costs to us as Clarington residents, and who will be responsible for the added costs re infrastructure. And the most important issues of safety and health concerns must be adequately addressed.
Public "Information" Sessions:
Thursday, April 12
Clarington Beech Centre, 26 Beech Street, Bowmanville, 7 - 9 pm
Saturday, April 14
Municipal Office, 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, 9:30 - 11:30 am
For more information, including resident's comments, see:
http://claringtonwatchdog.blogspot.com/search/label/Incinerator
Lets hope we will be pleasantly surprised.
That's what I'm afraid of. We'll get all the positive slant on the incinerator project because it is coming from the proponents. I am afraid the negative impacts will be glossed over or ignored completely. We do need to hear both sides so I hope someone will bring forward another meeting with a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteWe do need to hear both sides in order to make a competent decision.
ReplyDeleteI am worried about emissions that are inevitable, and the long-term effect mainly on our children. Not only cancers, but also asthma and other lung diseases.
Went to the Beech Centre last night and was more impressed by the questions from the residents in attendance then the with the answers given. The "experts" many times had to say that they didn't have answers to those questions yet. And gave the usual stock answers to other questions.
ReplyDeleteLots of people. SRO.
Many questions on logistics and on health and safety concerns. Excellent audience participation. Good question about Wesleyville as a potential site too and something that should be persued.
ReplyDeleteEveryone should attend at least one of these public information meetings. I learned more from the audience questions than from the presentation!
Yeah, and still our council balks at holding a public meeting for the chair election issue. Maybe they're afraid of hearing good questions and comments from the residents like we heard at this incinerator meeting!
ReplyDeleteI attended the session too. Now I'd really like to hear the OTHER side.
ReplyDeleteI was at the waste management meeting today and was appalled at the lack of information available when the question period ensued. It was either a beat around the bush answer or a "we won't have that information until later in the process". Anything specific including emission information (which they should already have looked at!) was not given to us when we asked for it.
ReplyDeleteGoing to be somewhere in durham. Brings jobs, tax income, and cutting edge technology to clarington. Just say yes and get it over with.
ReplyDeletepaul
Could be in York region. Just say yes and get it over with? Don't you care about the health issues, the emissions? Jobs? Sure - it brings approx. 35 jobs, once it's built. We could have many more jobs in the science part in the space it will take up, and cleaner jobs.
ReplyDeleteThese incinerators, even with their "scrubbers" pump more CO2 into the air than the traffic does. They are high polluters of greenhouse gasses. Have you done any investigation or reading on these things?
This isn't just NIMBY. This incinerator will cost the residents of Durham Region but will cost the residents of Clarington the most. Less space for industrial/commercial development, fewer jobs in that space, and higher taxes to pay for the infrastructure and upkeep and repair of roads with all those trucks back and forth. Then there is noise, truck pollution and so much more.
It's not as simple as you seem to think. And why are they closing all those incinerators in Eruope? There are too many questions to sit back and let it happen without getting answers to questions and making sure they build the best, regardless of cost. But then, we'll be paying for it won't we. Our taxes are already going up far too fast. This won't help at all.
I am a television producer working in Durham Region. I am doing research on the possible Clarington Incinerator. I am looking for a group or knowledgeable person is against the incinerator. Please contact me at golf_gal@rogers.com.
ReplyDelete