It is with great concern that I continue to hear from developers of Vancouver’s proposed garbage incinerator that this is a “green project” and that Vancouver is a leader in “green” initiatives.
I assure you the proposed incinerator is anything but.
In fact, studies show that municipal incinerators are the single largest contributors of CO2 when compared to burning coal, oil, natural gas and natural biomass and by a wide margin. Incinerators discharge into the atmosphere a number of harmful heavy metals, dioxins and furans, which are known carcinogens.
The waste ash from incineration results in a concentrated, dangerous, toxic waste that requires careful disposal. Seepage of this toxic ash into the ground water would result in contamination of not only water systems, but also flora and fauna as it follows its way up the food chain.
It appears a slam-dunk the proposal in conjunction with Tsawwassen First Nation will be selected as no public hearings nor rezoning will be required.
Tsawwassen and Delta residents will not only bear the brunt of this ludicrous and dangerous proposition, but will be left breathing toxic air and have to run the gauntlet of a massive increase in truck traffic and odours along the Highway 17 and the Ladner Trunk corridor.
The proposed TFN residential development, in conjunction with a shopping mall and incinerator, will become nothing more than a slum – certainly not the dream community they are marketing it to be.
This development shows nothing more than greed by a number of individuals and desperation by the City of Vancouver to develop a pristine piece of land for all the wrong reasons.
Those “Farms not Ports” signs should read “Farms not Incinerators” or “Farms not Shopping Malls” as the farmland removed from agricultural purposes by the TFN development is 100 times greater than anything ever utilized by Port development.
Vancouver is about to poison the air of the Lower Mainland by burning around 500,000 tonnes of garbage. We should be very concerned.
Joseph Basso
Delta