Cement plant blockade

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Activist chained around the wheel of a cement truck - part of a blockade of a Holcim cement plant.

At 8am, 21 Greenpeace activists paid a visit to a cement plant in Carboneras, Spain. The plant's owners, Holcim (a Swiss company) want to use the plant as an incinerator - burning trash to power the plant. This sort of thing is all too common in Spain and elsewhere, and incineration is going to be a big issue during the Esperanza's Mediterranean tour.

Why? Because incineration transforms waste into voluminous gases that carry toxic pollutants far and wide, and into ashes of varying degrees of toxicity. Waste burning at cement kilns poses an additional problem - increased amounts of toxins in the cement itself.

The first wave of activists moved in as a cement truck was about to leave the plant. Activists chained the front gate and formed a human wall in front of it locked together. Others occupied the conveyor belt and four more chained themselves around the truck's front wheels - putting their heads on the pavement to keep it from moving.

With the conveyor belt occupied and the gate blocked, Greenpeace reps at the site tried to get the company to meet with them. They hadn't any luck getting the company to the table before, but maybe with activists at their gate Holcim would at least be willing to sit down and talk.

But, No response from local company reps, or from the company's HQ in Switzerland. The day dragged on, the police presence grew heavier and angry plant workers demanded explanations. They weren't happy about their factory being blockaded. Greenpeace activists talked to them about why they were protesting - explaining that governments around the world acknowledge incinerators are a primary source of carcinogenic dioxins, among the most dangerous chemicals known to science. Some of the workers listened and even took the pamphlets the activists brought with them, others didn't.

At about 2pm the police moved in wearing body armour and wielding batons. Protesters were being cut loose and dragged off when a second wave of activists arrived from the Esperanza. The police started grabbing people, and throwing them to the ground. Reports from the scene say the police came down pretty hard, but a lone activist got through and joined the other four locked to conveyor belt.

In the end, the police arrested a total of 29. All have been charged and released by now.

With the factory shut down for most of the day, it was a small step towards stopping incineration, and a good start to the Esperanza's "Toxics Free Mediterranean" tour.

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