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The Incinerator is wounded. Let's finish it off.
Many of you may have seen in last Monday's paper that the Cleveland incinerator (a.k.a. gasification plant) is in trouble at Cleveland City Hall. Now is the time to double down the pressure on this ill conceived and dangerous project. The national and state Sierra Club–along with the local club–has made the defeat of this incinerator a top priority.
Here is one more opportunity to attend a public hearing on the proposed Cleveland incinerator:
- Wednesday, Feb. 15 at West Side Ecumenical Ministry, 5209 Detroit Ave. from 6 to 9 pm.
The primary concern environmentalists have about the proposed incinerator is that burning garbage releases toxins into our environment, which can affect residents' health. The facility's draft air permit could allow as much as 500 pounds of lead and 260 pounds of mercury emissions annually.
And it isn't even necessary. Mayor Jackson had made earlier pledges to set a goal of zero waste for Cleveland by 2019. But now the City has regressed in its vision by this proposal of an incinerator and a greatly reduced goal of recycling only 25% of its waste. Ohio Citizen Action has a great chart showing the the positive results than can happen if we stick to the vision of zero waste. You can sign a petition to Mayor Jackson here regarding this issue.
According to Councilman Brian Cummins, extending the curbside recycling program to cover the whole city would only cost $29 million whereas the cost of the proposed facility is estimated at somewhere between $180 to $350 million. There's a great amount of important information on his post on theciviccommons.com.
Signs courtesy of Public Citizen.
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