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Citizens Protest the Hazardous and Unnecessary Incinerator

Tatjana Tarandek - Ekologija.hr

31 May 2007

The citizens from three local initiatives and Zelena Akcija activists protested on Tuesday, May 29, in front of Zagreb City Administration Building against the planned construction of 170 million EUR worth incinerator and the adequate ashes storage facility.

No to Incinerators

�SOS Općina Gradec� (SOS Municipality Gradec), a youth initiative from Dubrava Municipality, the �Resnik� civic initiative and Zelena Akcija protested the manner in which such important decisions on waste management are adopted by city and county authorities. In their view, the environmental impact study (EIS) and the approval for survey of terrain for disposal of residual ashes are illegal. At the end of 2006, Zelena Akcija filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court in Zagreb disputing the decision to approve and adopt the said EIS.

Although the City authorities have repeatedly emphasized that the incinerator will be absolutely safe, the experiences from abroad point out that such facilities often violate the legal limits for emission of gasses and only a handful of incinerators manage to avoid them fully.

Measurements of hazardous substances are conducted every six months, upon prior notice by the competent inspectorate. On the other hand, measurements of general impact on the environment and human health are rarely undertaken. The modern incinerator in Trieste (Italy) recently received court orders to shut down two of its three furnaces for it exceeded the legally permitted levels of dioxin emissions over a period of two months.

Country authorities also insist that the ashes will be inert and safe. Incinerator ashes contain dioxins and heavy metals that are easily separated from the concrete and may reach underground water tables if there are leaks in the storage facility. Such hazardous substances may also spread through the air during transportation of ashes to the disposal facility.

�We have gathered here to show the City and County Administration that they can�t do as they wish and not consult the citizens�, said Tihana Tarandek from SOS Opcina Gradec association, and added, �we have had it with their arrogance and will do whatever is necessary for our views and opinions to be heard and taken into consideration�.

Marijan Galovic, Zelena Akcija activist noted that cities around the world use environmentally acceptable waste management methods and put emphasis on prevention, reuse, recycling, composting and mechanical and biological processing. Such practices prove incineration to be unnecessary and unjustified, both from environmental and economic point of view.

�It is the highest time for the City of Zagreb to outgrow its pathetic obsession with megalomaniac projects and adopt environmentally acceptable solutions, in cooperation with its citizens�, said Galovic.