The main reason for a Kwinana Incinerator

This article appeared in our local media, in which the Town of Kwinana and Kwinana Industry make some rather strange claims and admissions.

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Kwinana Council and Kwinana Industry claim our group did not stop a previous incinerator proposal in Kwinana which we fought for 4 years. Just why do they think that no other council would sign contracts to supply waste for this incinerator proposal?

The Mayor of Kwinana then claims "nearly an hour of the presentation time was hijacked by both Ms Bremmer and Mr Hesse". Wait a minute, it was our meeting,

we are entitled to speak at our own meeting. Or is it a case of if anyone has a differing view than the the Town of Kwinana or our Mayor then they should not be heard? I hope not because that sounds like a dictatorship to me.

Interestingly Kwinana Industry made some alarming admissions confirming as we suspected that hazardous/toxic wastes from industry would also be used. This is the reason Kwinana Industry want an incinerator in Kwinana; to use ratepayers funds to provide a way of hiding their toxic wastes.

"Hide the evidence of dirty and unsustainable industries. Incinerators allow dirty industries to get rid of their toxic waste and hide the impacts of their practices. These industries depend on incineration to fuel our continued use of this system of unsustainable production and consumption". 

Here is the article on our response to Town of Kwinana and Kwinana Industry claims:

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This is a letter of response from ACE:

Claims made by KIC director Chris Oughton and Kwinana Town Council’s Mayor, Carol Adams, in the Sound Telegraphs recent article 2/3/11, reveals their ignorance about incinerator technologies and shows that they did not understand the presentation by leading world expert on waste Dr Paul Connett at a recent public forum organised by the Alliance for a Clean Environment.

To suggest that our organisation could “hijack” their own forum which ACE provided to inform the community about the health, environment and other financial risks associated with incinerator technology, when the KIC and ToK have not, is a childish remark designed to divide and conquer host communities who have legitimate rights to access information about what might affect their health and their children’s future. To imply that providing community right to know is somehow a terrorist act, is simply gutter politics. ACE was inundated with many congratulations and offers of support from numerous people who attended the Kwinana forum and also the other successful forums that were held in Midland and at the Conservation Council of WA. Successful presentations were also made to the EPA, the DEC and the Waste Authority of WA and to a number of State parliamentarians during Dr Connett’s 10 day speaking tour hosted by ACE in Feb.

Even though there will always be those sections of government and community who do not want to be reminded of the regulatory failures that have happened in this state or of the comparatively poor environmental and health standards we have, it is no less of an interest to the community, especially those that will be hosting such toxic facilities.

Clearly Chris Oughton and Carol Adams, did not understand the science related to combustion and nano-particles as presented by Dr Connett. To suggest that toxic coal fly ash would be a suitable fuel source for MSW incinerators reveals this ignorance and displays a disturbing lack of regard for human health protection in their own community, which is already disproportionately affected by industrial pollution. Combustion processes create dangerous nano-particles that can pass directly into human blood, organs and brain yet are not regulated for environmental or human health protection in Australia.

Fly ash is the concentrated toxic waste gathered from combustion processes. Coal fly ash has been associated with radioactivity (see attached) and will contain hazardous mercury and dioxin wastes. To use this waste as a fuel source immediately makes any such proposal hazardous. Clearly this incinerator proposal is about providing waste disposal options for other toxic industries, such as the coal industry and has nothing to do with addressing the problems of municipal waste in WA, including our appalling recycling rates. Incinerator technologies destroy valuable resources that could be recycled and reused and does not create enough energy to be viable, economically or environmentally.

The KIC and ToK need to come clean on their plans to establish a hazardous waste incinerator in Kwinana. Passing off a hazardous waste incinerator as anything less, is misleading and offensive to the community and is not an honest way of pursuing the necessary government approvals. ACE will be watching closely and ensuring the truth about this proposal is made available to the public and that toxic waste incinerators do not establish here in WA.

WA citizens deserve better waste management than these sort of expensive, out dated, end of pipe, solutions that are known to leave toxic legacies for centuries. While Chris Oughton and Carol Adam’s comments seem nasty and adversarial towards legitimate public interest ngo’s, it is however not surprising that such tactics are being employed at a local government level in a town that is heavily dominated by industry representation.

It is beyond time that the Town of Kwinana and Kwinana Industry came clean with this community.

Other related blog posts:


Kwinana Health Statistics
 

The truth about incineration

Why so many communities reject waste incineration

In the Ghetto

Learn the truth about Incineration

Kwinana Council playing games with its community

Why do Kwinana Industry want MSW Incineration? ***Update: We answer why!

Incineration is not recycling.

Consultation what consultation?

Clean Incineration is a dirty lie.
Why incineration is a very bad idea in the Twenty First Century.

Incinerators: Myths versus Facts

What the US EPA says about incineration (scroll down to municipal solid waste).


Is Kwinana becoming a dictatorship?
 

Something in the air - Kwinana pollution

Kwinana Health Statistics

Kwinana warned of incinerator 'crime'

Hello all, I have been otherwise occupied of late, so am playing catch up now. Thank you all for staying tuned.

The visit by US incineration expert Dr Paul Connett went well, but it seems those that will make the decisions, once again didn't and probably just won't get the message, so the battle will continue.

Dr Connett was brought to WA by ACE WA in association with the Kwinana Watchdog Group supported by the Kwinana Progress Association.

Here is a local media article on the Kwinana Presentation by Dr. Paul Connett:

click picture to enlarge

Other related blog posts:

Kwinana Health Statistics

The truth about incineration

Why so many communities reject waste incineration

In the Ghetto

Learn the truth about Incineration

Kwinana Council playing games with its community

Why do Kwinana Industry want MSW Incineration? ***Update: We answer why!

Incineration is not recycling.

Consultation what consultation?

Clean Incineration is a dirty lie.

Why incineration is a very bad idea in the Twenty First Century.

Incinerators: Myths versus Facts

What the US EPA says about incineration (scroll down to municipal solid waste).

Is Kwinana becoming a dictatorship?

Something in the air - Kwinana pollution

Kwinana Health Statistics

"Environmental campaigners to continue Alcoa fight"

"Environmental campaigner Erin Brockovich says lawyers will now consider pursuing legal action against Alcoa in Australia, after a U.S. court threw out their case.

Led by Ms Brockovich, almost 250 locals claimed emissions from Alcoa's refineries in Kwinana, Wagerup and Pinjarra were making them sick.

The action was launched in Pennsylvania where Alcoa's head office is based.

Last week, the US Court of Appeals dismissed the case but Ms Brockovich and local residents say they will continue to pursue the issue.

Ms Brockovich says the lawyers will now consider their options locally.

"They will re-address what legal remedies that they will have here in Australia," she said.

"It doesn't mean that it didn't happen, it doesn't mean that anything's gone away, it just means as far as any legal strategy or jurisdiction in the US, that won't happen.

Alcoa said in a statement it was pleased with the court's decision and that its refineries were safe for employees and nearby communities".

Story from ABC News

The truth about Incineration

Reminder: International expert on waste Professor Paul Connett will explain why a Kwinana Incinerator is such a bad idea:

Don't be fooled by the Greed. Don't be fooled that there are no health problems related to pollution in Kwinana. Don't be fooled that wind does not blow pollution into Kwinana. Don't be fooled by those dirty industries looking for a quick fix to their waste problem at ratepayers expense. Don't be fooled - come along and hear the truth.

Kwinana Requatic Centre

Corner Gilmore Ave and Chisham Ave Kwinana

Tomorrow Night - Tuesday 8th February

at 7:00 pm

Click on image to enlarge

Also see:

Kwinana Health Statistics

Why so many communities reject waste incineration

In the Ghetto

Learn the truth about Incineration

Kwinana Council playing games with its community

Why do Kwinana Industry want MSW Incineration? *** We answer why!

Incineration is not recycling.

Consultation what consultation?

Clean Incineration is a dirty lie.

Why incineration is a very bad idea in the Twenty First Century.

Incinerators: Myths versus Facts

What the US EPA says about incineration (scroll down to municipal solid waste).

Something in the air - Kwinana pollution

Kwinana Health Statistics

Why so many communities reject waste incineration

From GAIA website: "Burning waste has many negative environmental, social and health consequences.

Waste incinerators do all of the following:

1. Poison our environment, bodies, and food supply with toxic chemicals. Incinerators produce a variety of toxic discharges to the air, water and ground that are significant sources of a range of powerful pollutants, including dioxin and other chlorinated organic compounds that are well-known for their toxic impacts on human health and the environment. Many of these toxins enter the food supply and concentrate up through the food chain.

2. Produce toxic byproducts. In addition to air and water emissions, incinerators create toxic ash or slag that must then be landfilled. This ash contains heavy metals, dioxins, and other pollutants, making it too toxic to reuse, although industry often tries to do so.

3. Undermine waste prevention and recycling. The use of incinerators feeds a system in which a constant flow of resources needs to be pulled out of the Earth, processed in factories, shipped around the world, and burned in our communities. This one-way linear system of resource extraction, production, transportation, consumption and disposal is a system in crisis. We simply cannot sustain this pattern indefinitely on a finite planet.

4. Contribute to global climate change. Incinerators emit significant quantities of direct greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, that contribute to global climate change. They are also large sources of indirect greenhouse gases, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and sulfur dioxide. In fact, incinerators emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour than any fossil fuel-based power source - including coal-fired power plants! But their greatest contribution to climate change is through undermining waste prevention and recycling programs, and encouraging increased resource extraction.

5. Waste energy and destroy vast quantities of resources. People selling "waste-to-energy" incinerators claim that generating energy by burning trash is a win-win solution to our waste and energy crises. The truth, however, is that incinerators actually waste energy. When burning materials that could be reused, recycled, or composted, incinerators destroy the energy-saving potential of putting those materials to better use. Recycling, for instance, saves 3 to 5 times the energy that waste incinerator power plants generate. Incinerators are also net energy losers when the embodied energy of the burned materials is taken into account. For these reasons, "waste-to-energy" plants would be more aptly named "waste-of-energy" plants.

6. Drain money from local economies to pay for expensive, imported technology, and provide far fewer jobs than zero waste programs. Incinerators are bad for local economies. As the most expensive waste handling option, they compete with recycling and composting for financing and materials, and they only sustain 1 job for every 10 at a recycling facility.

7. Hide the evidence of dirty and unsustainable industries. Incinerators allow dirty industries to get rid of their toxic waste and hide the impacts of their practices. These industries depend on incineration to fuel our continued use of this system of unsustainable production and consumption.

8. Violate the principles of environmental justice. Incinerators are disproportionately sited in poor or rural communities and areas of least political power. There are currently hundreds of proposals to build incinerators in Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.

9. Better alternatives to incinerating materials exist, and many communities where people are organized into strong grassroots movements have been able to defeat incinerators. Most things can and should be safely and economically recycled or reused, and we also need to simply use less and redesign our products so that they are toxic-free and built to last. This is the heart of a zero waste strategy that eliminates the negative environmental, social and health impacts of incinerator use".

This could be very appropriate and answer some interesting questions we have been asking, like "Why do Kwinana Industry want MSW Incineration"?

It seems item 7 here provides the answer, that is: "Hide the evidence of dirty and unsustainable industries. Incinerators allow dirty industries to get rid of their toxic waste and hide the impacts of their practices. These industries depend on incineration to fuel our continued use of this system of unsustainable production and consumption".

Now it seems we know (If we didn't already) why dirty, polluting Kwinana Industries such as Alcoa want incineration.

Thanks to GAIA for the information.

International expert Dr. Paul Connett Kwinana presentation on incineration. Tuesday 8th (week from today) at Kwinana Requatic centre 7pm.

Learn the truth about Incineration

As we know Kwinana Council in partnership with Kwinana Industry, ALCOA, and a company called Moltoni Energy have been pushing to have an incinerator built in Kwinana to burn household waste and also hazardous industrial waste.

We in association with Alliance for a Clean Environment (ACE) WA have organised a presentation on incineration by international waste expert Dr. Paul Connett.

Please come along and hear the real story of incineration around the world...

Please join us: Tuesday 8th February 7pm

at Kwinana Recquatic Centre

Corner of Gilmore Ave and Chisham Ave

Kwinana

There is a good reason this would be the first MSW incinerator in Australia,

that is because other communities in Australia have rejected incineration.

"In the Ghetto"

This was submitted and I just couldn't resist publishing, a classic...

With apologies to Elvis Presley.

Sing in the tune of "In the Ghetto"

On a cold grey Kwinana morn

another little plan was hatched and born

in the chamber

The CEO and KIC got together

with the Mayor at the edge of the sea

in Cockburn

Moltoni Group and a few men more

and they whispered about incinerator

in Kwinana

They took a little trip to a far off land

where they drank Saki and the spin was planned

for the residents

They hoped that they could get it all done

and return from the land of the rising sun

'Fore the story broke

But the newspaper wrote about the trip

The reporter had a very hot tip

from Hesse

So the KIC had to work very fast 

and give that Hesse a bloody good blast

from KIC

But what he wrote really wasn't new

Just we know the best for you

believe me

So maybe I am a little sceptical

Bout this trash receptacle

incinerate

And haven't we had a similar scene

Southin' 'bout Global Olivine

innovation

Funny but I vaguely seem to recall

That these ideas would be good for us all

reiterate

So swing your partner left and thenLet the dance begin again

circle

On a cold and grey Kwinana morn

another little plan was hatched and born

and the people cried

With compliments,

Uncle Les