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In Australia, the threat of incineration is no longer a localised concern but a national cause for alarm.
Incinerators are the most polluting and expensive way to manage our waste and make energy. Waste is a very heterogenous material compared to coal, oil, and gas, that when combusted, creates a range of toxic air pollutants, more climate pollution per unit of energy than most fossil fuels, and generates tonnes of hazardous and toxic ash residues. Burning our waste is inherently a linear process that destroys finite resources and undermines the goal of a Zero Waste, Circular Economy. Citizens, activists, and environmental organisations have united to address this pressing issue and bring about a transformative shift in waste management practices across the nation.
The scope of this issue is staggering. Incineration facilities emit a noxious cocktail of pollutants into the air, including dioxins, heavy metals, acid gases, fine particulate matter which may also include PFAS and microplastics. These airborne pollutants seep into communities, affecting the health of countless Australians. Respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers have been linked to proximity to incineration facilities, making this a public health threat of significant proportions.
Australia is signatory to a number of international conventions that compel authorities to reconsider support for incinerators in Australia. Incinerators are identified as major source of persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention. Dioxins, Furans, Bromines, and per-fluorinated chemicals are known to be emitted by waste incinerators. These pollutants are persistent in the environment, transboundary and bio-accumulative, posing a global environmental pollution threat. The Minamata Convention identifies waste incineration as one of the top five sources of dangerous mercury pollution and the Basel Convention identifies waste incineration as a major source of hazardous waste generation.
Australia has a unique opportunity to acknowledge that the waste incineration industry is not compatible with these international conventions or the rights of our citizens to a safe, toxic free environment. Instead, Australia should leapfrog ahead to implement sustainable Zero Waste policies, thus avoiding many of the mistakes made in the EU and US where incineration has left a legacy of pollution impacted communities and environments.
Recently French health authorities were forced to issue a ban on eating backyard chicken eggs and produce as a result of dioxin contamination in the surrounding environment of a major Paris incinerator. 410 municipalities (12 million people) have been notified about this contamination and warned not to eat their eggs.
Agricultural regions where food is grown, cattle, dairy and poultry farms operate, and where public drinking water sources are located, are particularly at risk in Australia. Incinerator projects are being nominated for special jobs and industry precincts in regional areas across Australia, where there is little regulatory oversight and where the pollution impacts pose widespread and irreversible damage.
Waste incineration generates large volumes of ash which require secure hazardous waste management usually in a secure landfill cell, dispelling industry claims that it is a smart clean-tech solution to our existing landfill problems. On average one tonne of waste ash is generated from burning four tonnes of waste. This hazardous waste ash has the potential to disrupt aquatic environments and harm wildlife while posing significant risks to workers and communities exposed to it.
Finally, waste incineration destroys finite waste resources (and the embedded energy they contain) for insignificant amounts of dirty energy. We cannot sustain this linear, material production system of extraction, production, consumption, and disposal on a planet with finite resources. In lockstep with this linear system are social impacts and human rights violations on communities in the global south through resource extraction and waste colonialism. Waste exports from wealthy OECD nations burden communities and their environments with plastic waste and other hazardous materials. At the same time dangerous incinerator technologies are financed and pushed into the vulnerable global south as aid and support for the burgeoning waste piles that richer OECD countries have largely created through legal and illegal waste exports. While Europe moves away from waste incineration in recognition that it undermines a Circular Economy and is a major climate threat, the industry is looking for new markets in the global south and has set Australia and New Zealand in their sights, as well as the Asia Pacific region. We must move to a more Circular and Regenerative Economy and bring an end to all waste exports.
The campaign to address these issues and shift Australia towards more sustainable Zero Waste policies is gaining momentum. We urge you to sign our https://chng.it/WTQVFXvy8v, an essential part of this movement for change. By doing so, you are showing your support for systemic change in how Australia manages its waste. You will be showing your support for the protection of frontline communities who will carry the burden of pollution and health impacts, for a safe climate, for a true Circular Economy and a toxics free future for all. Zero Waste models are more effective, cheaper, create more jobs and deliver better outcomes, than incinerators. It’s that simple.
