Zoom meeting on Thursday 19 September 2024 at 5:30pm to 7:00pm
At the meeting we’ll be highlighting how the Letition.org system can be used to send a clear “No Large Incinerators For Victoria” message to all Victorian Members of Parliament, in particular to the Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny.
The Letition system is a simple tool for individuals to be able to create a collective pressure on all Victorian Parliamentarians and all the Federal Members on the importance of an issue – such as to stop any further investments in large incinerators.
“Geelong’s environment and children’s health will be at great risk from this proposed large incinerator. It
will be too late in future years to find that all of Lara, Geelong and Western Melbourne is heavily polluted with “forever chemicals”. Even consuming backyard eggs may be a problem as has happened in France,” said Robert Patterson, co-founder of Letition.org.
To attend the online meeting, register here – and you will then receive the zoom link via email.
Note: David Pocock was scheduled to attend this meeting, but he has unfortunately had to cancel due to a double-booking.
Media coverage
→ Geelong Independent – 12 September 2024:
Pocock to join online anti-incinerator meeting (PDF)
“High profile independent senator David Pocock will take part in an online meeting focused on the proposed Lara incinerator.”
Q and A about incinerators
Do large incinerators cause global warming?
Trash Incineration and Climate Change: Debunking EPA Misinformation. Trash incineration is incredibly bad for the climate, releasing 2.5 times as much carbon dioxide CO2 to make the same amount of electricity as a coal power plant.
How much greenhouse gas is produced by incineration?
Burning trash in incinerators releases various types of emissions including lead, mercury, dioxins and furans, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, acidic gases (i.e., SOx, HCl), metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, and beryllium), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). 14 Nov 2019
Are waste incinerators safe?
Regardless of what is being burned (mixed municipal solid waste, plastic, outputs from “chemical recycling”), waste incineration creates and/or releases harmful chemicals and pollutants, including: Air pollutants such as particulate matter, which cause lung and heart diseases. 19 July 2021
Is waste incineration bad for the environment?
The more waste and plastics are sent to be burnt, the more our environment and health will suffer in parallel. In addition to the direct impact of burning waste on the planet and our health, waste incineration could have a further, indirect effect by impacting the amount that gets recycled. 9 March 2021
Is it better to incinerate or landfill?
For every 100 tons of trash burned, 25 tons become toxic ash that goes to landfills. The other 75 tons don’t turn into energy, but become air pollution. In terms of air pollution, and groundwater impacts, burning waste then burying ash is far worse than direct landfilling, and both are worse than a Zero Waste approach.
Do incinerators harm air quality?
In addition to greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change, incinerators emit many toxins and pollutants that harm local air quality. Emissions include dioxins, NOx and ultrafine particulate matter that can be harmful to both human health and the natural environment.
Stop burning our waste
| Ellen Sandell, leader of the Victorian Greens, wrote: Setting fire to rubbish should never be the answer For decades the Government has neglected waste and recycling. Now they want to burn the problem and leave regional Victorians to deal with the mess. They have already approved five, large-scale, industrial incinerators, and who knows how many more are on the horizon? Burning rubbish increases carbon emissions and creates toxic by-products that are bad for the air, soil, and water. Often commercial waste incineration agreements need a constant stream of rubbish for them to be viable – that means communities could be penalised if they reduce their waste! What’s more, these waste-guzzling incinerators will end up burning recyclables, plastic, and food waste because there is no commitment from these companies to separate the waste they receive.This is not what our climate or communities need right now – we need to focus on waste reduction, not toxic incinerators. We can stop this. Email and call your Councillor candidates until they sign the pledge.  Local government councils must commit to never sending their waste to these incinerators. Instead, they can lead the way by investing in better collection and large scale source separation facilities. Will you ask the Council candidates in your area to sign the pledge, committing to never burning your waste? You can find your current Councillors’ details on the MAV’s Vic Councils page or go to the VEC website from 18 September 2024. In solidarity,  Ellen Sandell Leader of the Victorian Greens |