Over one hundred civil society members of GAIA (the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) across five continents signed onto a letter addressed to Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, calling on the organization to cease its promotion of Waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration ; a harmful and widely discredited waste management approach ; and instead uplift just and equitable zero waste solutions.
The letter specifically called attention to UN-HABITAT’s post praising WTE on its LinkedIn page on March 6, as well as including WTE in its zero waste best practices webpage. In addition to its public stance, UN-HABITAT is influencing municipalities’ decisions in favor of WTE, contradicting the organization’s mission to disseminate proven strategies to promote urban development.
GAIA member Wahyu Eka Styawan of WALHI/FoE Indonesia East Java region states said : « In Surabaya, Indonesia, waste-to-energy has not reduced waste, but created pollution, with air quality often reaching unhealthy levels. Instead of a system that just burns waste and creates new problems, we need a zero waste approach that addresses waste through sustainable production and consumption ».
« Incineration does not solve waste problems, but instead creates a range of health and environmental risks, and compromises the development of policies for more reuse, recycling, and composting. Waste-to-energy plants in Europe emit dioxins and greenhouse gases, proving that this supposed ‘solution’ is in fact costly both to people’s health and their pocketbooks », says Danita Zarichinova, Board member or ZW coordinator at ZaZemiata in Bulgaria and Zero Waste Europe member.
GAIA members throughout the Global South are rejecting waste-to-energy incineration. « There are now more sustainable zero waste alternative methods of dealing with waste which would avoid the main health hazards of incineration, would produce more energy and would be far cheaper in real terms, if the health costs were taken into account. Waste-to-energy incineration is certainly a no-option for Africa », says Dr Leslie Adogame, Executive Director of SRADeV Nigeria.
More than 500 cities around the world are transitioning to zero waste through policies or practices, such as separate collection, composting, and laws that reduce single-use packaging.
« In Ecuador, where solid waste management is inadequate, we have implemented zero waste models in coastal beach restaurants, achieving an immediate reduction in plastic pollution in natural areas. Additionally, this has fostered a positive learning process, where both the tourism sector and visitors understand the importance of minimizing waste, associating it with a higher-quality experience and significant cost savings », said Cecilia Torres, Mingas por el Mar, Ecuador.
« UN-HABITAT should not promote this aging, polluting technology when it harms so many lives, especially in communities already overburdened by environmental injustices. We should go back to zero waste by investing in systems that reduce waste at its source and support the reuse and recycling of recyclable materials, rather than burning waste and creating more toxic pollution », said Nazir Khan, Executive Director at Minnesota Environmental Justice Table.
Did you find this article useful ? Do you appreciate the quality work we do for the emancipation and emergence of Africa ? If so, you can support us financially.
Send your donations by Flooz to +228 98 85 03 42; by Mixx by Yas to +228 91 52 02 62; or by bank transfer to account : TG138 01008042841370002 69 IBAN: TG53 TG13 8010 0804 2841 3700 0269 SWIFT: ATTGTGTGXXX Banque Atlantique, Togo.
If you would like to provide material support (computers, smartphones, cameras, hard drives, USB sticks, Wifi subscription etc…) please contact us on +228 98 85 03 42 (calls and WhatsApp) or by e-mail : lepapyrustogo@gmail.com
Le Papyrus Média (LPM), the pan-Africanist media !!!!