Dear Editor:
It's hard to know what to make of John Foden's letter in praise of burning garbage (Energy-from-waste facilities make sense, Jan. 21) and his criticism of Hildegard Bechler, one of many local citizens concerned about the health and environmental impacts of incineration.
So let's start with who Mr. Foden really is. His title - executive director of the Canadian Energy-from-Waste coalition - masks his real duties as a paid lobbyist for the incineration industry.
Surprisingly, Metro Vancouver is a member of the association Mr. Foden represents as a lobbyist for incineration, even though many of our municipalities clearly don't support incineration. Contrary to Mr. Foden's claims, burning recyclables, including paper and plastics, releases toxic substances into the airshed. Removing paper and plastics from the waste stream and recycling them instead of burning or burying them is a third option that makes the most sense.
The very inconvenient truth facing Mr. Foden is this: taking more recyclables out of the waste stream - as companies like ours want to do - actually removes the raison d'être for incineration by removing the fuel needed to keep incinerators burning.
Communities identified as possible incinerator sites understand that maximizing recycling and protecting air quality go hand in hand. Our
company favours maximizing recycling, whether at source or by recovering it from the waste stream. That is why we propose to invest $30 million to build a material recovery facility in Coquitlam - a project unanimously supported by city council. This facility, and others like it, would both minimize the residual waste to be landfilled, and avoid the harmful air pollution that belches from incinerators. And, unlike incinerators, these facilities don't create the air pollution that burning garbage does. Incineration means more emissions, more wasted materials, and more landfilling. This is not the path to zero waste.
It is no wonder a strong majority of residents surveyed expressed serious concerns about the health, environmental and climate impacts of Metro Vancouver's scheme to burn more garbage. Those families deserve and are demanding better.
Russ Black, vice-president, corporate development, Belkorp Environmental Services
