Burn baby burn…
I posted a message about incineration on the Greenpeace Forum a couple of weeks ago. It seems to me, that in Ireland at least, we’re hellbent on creating as much rubbish as we possibly can, without any care about how to dispose of it. A trip to Tescos or Marks & Spencers means returning with a crazy amount of plastic and styrofoam. On bin day, I see households – that have no more than 3 or 4 residents – putting out 3-4 black plastic sacks. That’s a lot of crap per person per week.
So, while I’m not so utopian that I think ‘Zero Waste’ is easily available, I think it should be a target of sorts. Instead of building massive landfills and commercial incinerators, retailers and suppliers should be made accountable for the huge amounts of non-biodegradable packaging that they generate.
Unfortunately, it’s in the interest of waste disposal companies, and incinerator firms in particular, to produce as much rubbish as possible.
This is an edited version of my Greenpeace post:
There’s a bunch of waste incinerators being built in Ireland, including one in Dublin city centre. Obviously, local resistance to the furnaces is pretty strong. But I suspect that despite local opposition, the construction of the incinerators will go ahead anyway.
The general attitude of the pro-incinerator types is:
– Other European countries are doing it, so they must be right (circular logic)
– It’s the best way to get rid of rubbish
– It doesn’t pollute
…while the against argument…well, I’m not going to preach to the converted. Here’s the Greenpeace page on the matter »
Irish Campaign:
www.noincineration.com
So is anyone here familiar with anti-incinerator campaigning? Care to relate your experiences?
Some other links:
New Zealand: Zero Waste »
Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance
Check out my Greenpeace Forum posting on the matter – there’s quite a lot of responses to it. More »
Update 20/5/04:
Down to Zero – Tell Minister Martin Cullen what you want!
