[Pharmwaste] Response: "Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash,
but U.S. Lags"
Sue Dayton
sdayton at swcp.com
Tue Apr 13 15:21:42 EDT 2010
Dennis:
Permits for incinerators are merely licenses for industry to pollute. See
the response below from Ananda Lee Tan, GAIA -
Sue
............................................................................
.....................................
Response to NY Times:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/earth/13trash.html?ref=earth_>
"Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags", 4/12/2010
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives: http://www.no-burn.org
For decades the tobacco industry told us that cigarettes were safe. Now the
waste incineration industry wants us to believe they are coming clean?
Despite the latest spin, there is nothing better about burning garbage
today, whether in the U.S. or in Denmark (1). Attempts to peddle "waste to
energy" haven't gained wide acceptance around the world because people are
aware that incineration:
1. Remains <http://www.cawdrec.com/incineration/CVH.pdf> a serious
threat to public health. Burning garbage is a primary source of
cancer-causing dioxins and other pollutants that enter the food supply and
concentrate up through the food chain.
2. Produces more carbon dioxide per unit of electricity than coal power.
Current atmospheric carbon loads cannot safely bear additional emissions
from <http://no-burn.org/article.php?id=339> incinerators and landfills.
3. Is a massive waste of energy. Due to its low calorific value, burning
garbage to produce energy is highly inefficient (2). Conversely, recycling
<http://www.springerlink.com/content/m423181w2hh036n4/> recovers three to
five times more energy than incineration produces.
4. <http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9F11AS80.htm> Creates
an economic burden for communities. Billions of taxpayer dollars are spent
subsidizing the construction and operations of incinerators. For a fraction
of this <http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4601> cost, investments in recycle,
reuse and remanufacture, create significantly more business and employment
opportunity.
5. Represents the destruction of valuable resources and jobs. Zero waste
practices create <http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/> over 10 times the number
of jobs than burning or burying the same waste. Over ninety per cent of
municipal waste can be recycled, re-used or composted, to create thousands
of good, long-term jobs.
As part of their marketing, incinerator lobby groups have even recruited the
same <http://www.no-burn.org/article.php?id=832> "expert" witnesses that
once testified for the tobacco industry. Fortunately, citizen groups today
are not easily deceived by such masquerades and are familiar with real
solutions.
The next time the NY Times looks at gleaning information from industry
websites, I would encourage you to diligently question the source.
Footnotes:
1. According to Eurostat in 2007, Denmark produces the highest waste per
capita (over 1762 lbs. per person each year) in the EU - clearly an
unsustainable level of waste generation. Additionally, over 80 % of what is
burned in Danish incinerators is recyclable/compostable.
2. State of the art incineration plants in Denmark achieve only 25% energy
efficiency with heat and power
Ananda Lee Tan
North American Program Coordinator
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
1958 University Avenue, Berkeley, Ca 94703
Phone: +1 510 883 9490 Ext 102
Email: ananda at no-burn.org
Website: www.no-burn.org <http://www.no-burn.org/>
Sue Dayton
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
North Carolina Healthy Communities Program
PO BOX 44
Saxapahaw, NC 27340
(336) 525-2003
sdayton at swcp.com
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
_____
From: Dennis Lucia [mailto:djlucia at gw.dec.state.ny.us]
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 1:47 PM
To: Deborah (DEQ)' 'DeBiasi; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us; Sue Dayton
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] "Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S.
Lags"
Sue,
Pick your poison.
Assume 1000 #'s of pharmaceuticals to be disposed of.
Method 1 - Flushing - 100% enters the waters
Method 2 - landfill - Pharmaceuticals enter the leachate - some break down -
most are sent to a wastewater treatment facility let's say 95% for the sake
of conversation. 950 # to the waters
Method 3 - incineration - controlled burn - 999+ pounds destroyed - 1 # to
filters some captured. Less than 1 # released to environment.
What we need are well controlled facilities that follow regulations... :)
Dennis J. Lucia, P.E.
Pollution Prevention Unit
Division of Environmental Permits
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway 4th Fl.- SW
Albany, NY 12233-1750
(518) 402-9469
Fax (518) 402-9168
>>> "Sue Dayton" <sdayton at swcp.com> 4/13/2010 1:02 PM >>>
Hi Folks:
"Dozens of filters catch pollutants, from mercury to dioxin, that would have
emerged from its smokestack only a decade ago?"
Waste to energy? Sounds like a wonderful idea, but not without compromises.
For one, our air.
Our organization has a number of studies available on WTE. For starters see:
http://www.bredl.org/pdf2/StopIncinerationBlowingSmoke.pdf
http://www.greenaction.org/incinerators/documents/IncineratorsInDisguiseRepo
rtJune2006.pdf
http://preventcancernow.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pcn-incin51.pdf
PowerPoint: Burning Issues in Waste Disposal:
http://www.greenaction.org/incinerators/documents/GreenactionGAIAIncinerator
sInDisguise0209.pdf
Best -
Sue Dayton
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
North Carolina Healthy Communities Program
PO BOX 44
Saxapahaw, NC 27340
(336) 525-2003
sdayton at swcp.com
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of DeBiasi,
Deborah (DEQ)
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 9:31 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] "Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags"
Good article on the Waste-to-Energy Incinerators, like Covanta, that
were being discussed here last week.
"Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/earth/13trash.html?th
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/earth/13trash.html?th&emc=th>
&emc=th
Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email: Deborah.DeBiasi at deq.virginia.gov (NEW!)
WEB site address: www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
www.deq.virginia.gov/vpdes/microconstituents.html
Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218
Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219
PH: 804-698-4028
FAX: 804-698-4032
---
Note: As a courtesy to other listserv subscribers, please post messages to
the listserv in plain text format to avoid the garbling of messages received
by digest recipients.
---
TO SUBSCRIBE, go to:
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, DO NOT REPLY TO THE LISTSERV. Please send an e-mail to
pharmwaste-unsubscribe at lists.dep.state.fl.us -- the subject line and body of
the e-mail should be blank.
If you believe you may be subscribed with a different email address, please
visit the subscriber listing at
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/roster/pharmwaste
FOR PROBLEMS: Contact List Administrator Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us
SEND MAIL to the list server at: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
---
Note: As a courtesy to other listserv subscribers, please post messages to
the listserv in plain text format to avoid the garbling of messages received
by digest recipients.
---
TO SUBSCRIBE, go to:
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, DO NOT REPLY TO THE LISTSERV. Please send an e-mail to
pharmwaste-unsubscribe at lists.dep.state.fl.us -- the subject line and body of
the e-mail should be blank.
If you believe you may be subscribed with a different email address, please
visit the subscriber listing at
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/roster/pharmwaste
FOR PROBLEMS: Contact List Administrator Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us
SEND MAIL to the list server at: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20100413/72823978/attachment.html
More information about the Pharmwaste
mailing list