Zero Waste Blog: Arab Spring

Showing posts with label Arab Spring. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Arab Spring and Wastepickers

This amazing story is making the rounds among incinerator fighters world-wide.

Photo: Goldman Fund

We're holding the dragons at bay!

In January 2008 Metro Vancouver proposed building up to 6 waste incinerators in this region.

We have been working ever since in partnership with local communities to raise awareness of the problems with this plan.

Look at our successes:

~ March 2008: at a 2-day workshop (Garbage 101) 35 people learned the basics about our region's waste management system...

~ May 2008: at lively meetings in Abbotsford, New Westminster, and downtown Vancouver, over 350 people from across the province heard Dr. Paul Connett explain why even if you could make incineration safe, you could never make it sensible...

~ Summer 2008: Port Moody citizens participate in a thorough review of Plasco's garbage gasification proposal...

~ October 2008: Port Moody Council adopts their recommendation not to proceed with the Plasco proposal...

~ November 2008: Zero Waste Vancouver announces the results of a survey of candidates in the civic elections, revealing overwhelming opposition to incinerators among responding candidates...

~ January 2009: Metro Board votes not to pursue expropriation of the Canfor industrial site after a receiving a staff report acknowledging "political uncertainty" around waste-to-energy...

~ June 2009: Metro Board receives a 300-page report presenting 8 options for waste in the region, and only 2 involve building new incinerators...

It is still important to keep talking to your elected officials. Send some summer greetings to the politicians on Metro Vancouver's waste management committee. Tell them you don't want them to build costly new incinerators. Incinerators encourage waste ~ and threaten our community health and safety.

Ask for the money to be spent on creating a Zero Waste Economy through recycling and composting.

Here are the committee members' email addresses.:

mooreg@portcoquitlam.ca>,
clrdeal@vancouver.ca>,
mwade-anderson@city.whiterock.bc.ca>,
mayor.corrigan@burnaby.ca>,
edaykin@mapleridge.org>,
pgoldsmith-jones@westvancouver.ca>,
shamilton@corp.delta.bc.ca>,
lmhepner@surrey.ca>,
dmaclean@pittmeadows.bc.ca>,
dmussatto@cnv.org>,
hsteves@richmond.ca>,
joe.trasolini@cityofportmoody.com>,
wwright@newwestcity.ca>,
LJackson@corp.delta.bc.ca>

Don't build an incinerator ~ fix the landfill!

Metro Vancouver is ready to throw away a serviceable landfill and go out and spend $3 billion on brand new waste incinerators.
Is this what your thrifty grandmother would do?

Probably not. She'd try to fix the landfill instead! Here are some links to reports about "mechanical and biological treatment" (MBT) ~ a way of cleaning up garbage so it's safe to bury:

Stabilized Landfills: an alternative to traditional landfilling and thermal treatment, April/May 2007

Consultants' report (Gartner Lee) done for Niagara Region in Ontario

How to comply with the EU landfill directive without incineration, Greenpeace, 21 March 2007

Cool Waste Management, Greenpeace, February 2003

Friends of the Earth UK, Briefing, 2004

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Arab Spring and Wastepickers

Volunteers Needed!

We're holding the dragons at bay!

Don't build an incinerator ~ fix the landfill!

Welcome to the Zero Waste Blog

Watch a film!

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