Greenpeace activists from MV Esperanza in hazardous material suits with samples of residues from the waste incinerator in Messina, Sicily
Space is running out, so what do you do with all those empty
plastic bottles, potato peels and construction waste? The answer
from industry and many governments has been incineration: put all
that problematic rubbish together in a big furnace, burn it and
watch it disappear. Problem solved. Or is it?
Sweeping things into the fireplace
Today we were set to show that sweeping things under the carpet
(or into the fireplace) does not help. A "Toxic Patrol" made up of
ten Greenpeace activists left the MV Esperanza at 11:00 am this
morning to investigate and take samples at an incinerator operated
by the MessinAmbiente Spa company in the Sicilian town of Messina,
located in the province of the same name. As we came closer to the
plant we could smell the gases coming from the stacks - probably
containing dioxins, some of the most harmful compounds known to
science.
'Clean' incinerators, toxic ashes
As we came approached the incinerator, we could see a conveyor
belt dropping wet incinerator residues straight onto the ground,
which was covered with an icky layer of grey mud. Two of our
activists wearing hazardous materials suits and full-face masks
began to take samples. It is estimated that for every three tons of
waste incinerated, one ton of ash is generated. This ash may
contain 100 times more dioxins than air emissions, as well as heavy
metals and a range of other dangerous pollutants. The "cleaner" and
more high-tech the incinerator, the dirtier the ashes. Yet these
highly-toxic ashes are routinely disposed of in landfills or used
to make roads and cement, spreading these dangerous chemicals all
over the place.
Samples slipped out to labs, government
After taking the samples we were about to leave when we got a
visit from the local police. We managed to sneak the samples out,
though. One will be sent to our science labs at Exeter University
in England for analysis. Another was taken to the Messina
provincial government building, where another team of Greenpeace
activists were blocking the entrance with banners and chained to
barrels.
The incinerator we visited is the only one operating in Sicily
so far, but there are five more being planned for the island.
Vittoria, the toxic campaigner for the Italian office, met with the
environmental official for the province of Messina. The official
came out of the building, passed the activists, put on a pair of
gloves, and accepted our sample, which he pledged to send for
analysis to compare the results with ours.
Sane solutions
Our goal is to show that incineration is far from being a
solution to waste management. Local, regional and national
governments must play an active role by raising demand for recycled
products, establishing economic incentives for clean production and
implementing education and assistance programs. Manufacturers must
take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products and
packaging.
As you may expect, there are no quick technological fixes to the
problems of industrialisation. The final answer to dealing with all
the waste we produce is simply to stop producing it. Just as in the
island of Sicily, the land and resources on our planet are very
limited. It is time to tackle the waste problem from the roots -
starting by banning dangerous technologies such as incineration,
and setting the policies for a Zero Waste society.