Editor:
Many of the citizens of the Sunshine Coast are clearly concerned about Metro Vancouver’s plan to incinerate garbage to produce electricity.
It is neither green nor renewable or even forward thinking. It does not solve the problems of pollution, environmental degradation of air and/or water quality. It does not support the concept of reusing and reducing what goes into our landfills.
For decades Canadians have faced powerful incentives to reduce their polluting activities to reuse and recycle, to purchase products that last longer and use less packaging. We have learned if we stop treating waste as waste we will not have garbage to go into landfills and/or incinerators.
Incinerating garbage produces pollution. This pollution will cost us. We will pay taxes directly to our governments to clean up the damage incineration will cause to our no longer pristine natural environment. The pollution will remain in our environment, and if we don’t clean it up, it will degrade our health and reduce our incomes.
This is no longer zero waste, it is billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money in a massive waste-to-energy project creating a smoggy city that will become a serious health problem and a less than desirable place to build a strong economy.
Garbage incinerators cannot be alternatives to land filling. Source separation, resource recovery, MRFs or pay as you throw policies where you throw out less, you will pay less are innovative. They are also cheaper, support local economic development and are zero waste.
Let’s create renewable energy policies that adopt measures that lead to a better and cleaner economy and generate more investment in alternative energies and whatever prosperity we have today can be sustained and even improved for our children and grandchildren.
Judith Renaud, Gibsons
