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The Lunz GroupRepresenting Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester Counties in South Carolina |
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Charleston County Incinerator Initiative |
This Wednesday, March 25 the Charleston County Council will likely vote on whether to sign a new 20 year contract to incinerate the majority of the County’s waste. The Sierra Club Lunz Group opposes the renewal of this contract and urges members and others in the community to voice their concerns to the Council. The outcome of the vote is very much up in the air with a number of council members saying they are undecided. The incinerator operator, Montenay, is waging aggressive lobbying behind the scenes so it is important that community members let the council know how they feel. There will likely be no public comment at the meeting so council members should be contacted in advance by phone or email.
• The incinerator is by far the most expensive option open to the county, estimated by the County’s solid waste expert to cost $85 million more over twenty years than if the county closed the facility and increased recycling. For residents this would result in a 25% price difference on annual solid waste taxes
• Renewal of the contract would subject the surrounding residential neighborhood to a further 20 years of air pollution including mercury and particulate matter, in addition to heavy truck traffic and trash odors.
• A misleading study from Montenay notwithstanding, closing the incinerator could result in greenhouse gas reductions if, as assumed, the County pursues methane recovery from the Bee’s Ferry Landfill and recycling services are expanded.
• South Carolina has plenty of cheap landfill capacity available to absorb the County’s remaining trash after the Bee’s Ferry landfill closes. The state has so much excess landfill capacity that the legislature is considering a temporary moratorium on new landfills to prevent other states sending their trash here. According to the County’s consultant, both Berkeley and Dorchester counties have expressed a willingness to take Charleston’s waste.
• The County solid waste consultant / expert said the incinerator was not needed and in his opinion was not the cost effective option. The citizen Green Committee appointed by the council voted to recommended closing the facility.
• The County needs to focus its energy on recycling capacity, not trash disposal capacity. What kind of recycling programs could Charleston have if we invested the approximately $85 million dollars that would be spent on the incinerator, on reducing and recycling instead?
Coastal Conservation Leagues’ Comes Out Against Incinerator
Recent Post & Courier Articles
• CCL against new pact at refuse site March 11, 2009
• Charleston County Green Ribbon Committee recommendation: Close incinerator March 12, 2009
• Expert: Incinerator not needed March 13, 2009
District 1: Joe McKeown (843) 343-4991 jmckeown@charlestoncounty.org
District 2: Dickie Schweers (843) 513-9229 dickieschweers@tds.net
District 3: J. Elliott Summey (843) 200-4244 esummey@charlestoncounty.org
District 4: Henry Darby (843) 297-9014 henrydarby@msn.com
District 5: Teddie E. Pryor, Sr., Chairman (843) 744-5308 tpryor@charlestoncounty.org
District 6: A. Victor Rawl vrawl@charlestoncounty.org (843) 766-7334
District 7: Colleen T. Condon (843) 225-7288 colleen@colleencondon.com
District 8: Curtis Inabinett (843) 889-3949 curtisinabinettsr@webtv.net
District 9: Paul Thurmond, Vice Chairman (843) 937-8000 pthurmond@tktlawfirm.com
Sincerely, Sierra Club Lunz Group Executive Committee