lunedì 10 marzo 2008

Incineration like Recycling? No, thank you!

In the next days the European Parliament will be asked to vote on the proposal for “rebranding” incineration as a “recovery” option, almost comparable to recycling. Incinerators cause cancer, we need to express our opposition to the Euro Parliament, for our own sake and the one of those who will come. Copy the following text into an email and send it to all the members (in bcc). Different translations are available at the links below, along with the email addresses of all the EP members.

"Dear Member of the European Parliament,

Soon, in the context of the ongoing debate on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, you’ll be submitted a proposal for “rebranding” incineration as a “recovery” option, almost comparable to recycling, thereby stopping its current classification as “disposal”.

This letter is intended to let you consider carefully the following related issues.

You may be aware that, even with high efficiency of energy recovery at incineration sites, the recovered energy may not compensate that we may save by means of recycling those same materials. As a matter of fact, if we burn such materials, we’ll be compelled to produce them again from primary raw materials, which implies by far higher energetic inputs.

Resources on earth are not endless, and unfortunately they are already being widely depleted.
After incineration, resources are dispersed and may not be used any more.

On the contrary, planet earth benefits from an endless energy source, notably the sun, which has ensured, so far, life on the planet, and from which other natural sources of energy derive (wind, tides, waterfalls).

Therefore, even disregarding health implications of incineration (which concern us anyway), we consider unreasonable to “rebrand” waste incineration putting it almost at the same level as material recycling.

Furthermore, even best available technologies do not keep incineration from filling the environment with persistent pollutants, noxious to health, including various carcinogens.

This is the reason why millions of doctors and EU citizens advocate a ban on incineration: we may mention e.g. the platform of French Medical Organisations, including the National Council of Medical Associations; also, many other Medical Associations from across the EU have called on Governments to implement a ban on new installations for incineration

Remarkably, we have nowadays strategies/options other than incineration and landfilling, which allow an almost full recover of resources in waste. It would therefore be unreasonable to promote a further development of incineration through its “rebranding”

Building on the precautionary principle, incineration should be an option progressively phased out, similarly to landfilling, and both should be replaced by those options that ensure by far higher material recycling and energy savings, with much lower environmental and health impacts.

We therefore trust your common sense and sense of responsibility, and beg your commitment to vote against “rebranding” incineration as “recovery”

Sincerely yours,

[Your Name]"


Download the Italian translation


Download the french translation

Download the german translation

Download the email addresses of the Environment Commission

Download the Email of all Euro Parliament members

1 commento:

Jade&Larissa ha detto...

Where is the portuguese translate???