Now we can roll up our sleeves and get to work on our plans for community driven alternatives for solar and recycling. Curtis Bay has a history of being overburdened by industry. For Curtis Bay residents like Janet Clark, todays thunderous explosion at the CSX Coal Terminal was terrifying and only the latest reason to fear and resent the gritty landmark. This decision impacts the entire Mid Atlantic Region as cities and counties considering this plant as an option for their garbage will have to build an incinerator in their own back yards over strenuous citizen opposition. This is bad. April 18, 2016 at 6:00 a.m. EDT. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, he moved to the Bay Area in 1994 and began working full-time for Bay Area News Group in 2000. Americans produce 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day, the most in the world, and the talk of returning to incineration, industry experts say, is an acknowledgment of defeat in the effort to reduce output and step up recycling. by Andrew Brummer, Colgate University, 2016 Energy Answers International, a private energy company based in Albany, New York, is currently building the nations largest waste-to-energy incinerator in Curtis Bay, Maryland. In a part of the country famous for its agriculture and cultural identity, climate-driven swings between extreme precipitation and deep drought threaten historic architecture, ancient art and beloved foods. Soon, it could also be home to a plant producing carcinogenic emissions from burning as much as 4,000 tons of shredded tires, vinyl, construction debris and other waste per day. Then, in 2011, after the state had issued a permit for the giant new incinerator being pushed by Energy Answers International, Gov. By the time Campbell and several classmates at Benjamin Franklin High School finished their fight, they had come up against then-Gov. Now, more than ever, is the time for our public officials to stand with residents as we work to make our positive vision a reality.. Destiny Watford. Prince Georges County in Maryland was courted by the incinerator industry in the late 2000s, but decided it wouldnt be in its best interest to build a new incinerator. Fighting for Housing Justice: An Interview with Two Youth Organizers in Curtis Bay, Baltimore Nicole Fabricant& Carlos Sanchez& Terriq Thompson- 16 March 2021 Two Baltimoreyouth organizers discuss the importance of community land trusts, for housing and beyond. Were very worried about it, said Clark, who has lived on Church Street for the past seven years. Curtis Bay, a community in south Baltimore, is home to more than seven thousand residents. Eventually the pollutants settle in the body and cause harm. Even though state law prevents construction of trash-burning incinerators less than one mile from schools, the Maryland Department of the Environment has circumvented this restriction by classifying the plant for energy production instead of as an incinerator. Surrounded by mountains of black coal, the tall metal silo routinely emits acrid odors and leaves a coating of particulates on windows, cars and lawn furniture, say residents of this far South Baltimore neighborhood. VICTORY FOR CLEAN AIR: MARYLAND PULLS PERMIT FOR NATIONS LARGEST TRASH BURNING INCINERATOR. The language in the Maryland Department of the Environments letter is stern, but the deadline the agency sets, opponents say, cuts them a break. When Marylands Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard was enacted in 2004, incineration was listed as a Tier 2 renewable energy source. Truth or greenwashing? What we reuse, we don't have to remake. People said 30 years ago there wouldnt be a need to have waste-to-energy sites, said Ted Michaels, president of the Energy Recovery Council, a trade association, recalling optimism over garbage reduction and vast increases in recycling. Swinton and Campbell hope that the city will rethink the settlement and an extension of the incinerators contract. The plant will be even larger than the one about to open in West Palm Beach, able to combust 4,000 tons of material per day processed from residential garbage, wood, tires and the remains of automobiles. In Baltimore, members of the high school group Free Your Voice canvassed the Curtis Bay neighborhood to stop a proposed waste-to-energy plant. After the latest environmental mishap in this part of far South Baltimore, community leaders are calling on Governor Moore to declare the area an air pollution emergency., A CSX coal plant explosion in December sends billowing clouds of smoke over Curtis Bay. And because Wheelabrator requires a steady supply of trash to operate, activists argue, recycling and composting rates in Baltimore are significantly lower than in other parts of the country. ILSR is offering free enrollment in our online certificate course to residents of states and tribal lands in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic during International Compost Awareness Week. Maryland officials say that because it is privately financed, the facility is avoiding the financial risks that pushed cities including Detroit, Camden, N.J., and Harrisburg, Pa., toward insolvency after they built expensive incinerators designed to generate revenue through fees for handling garbage. As for the cause of the explosion, officials from CSX and the Baltimore Fire Department say it is still under investigation. But many of those living in communities like Curtis Bay see the impacts of a WTE incinerator as very different from those of a solar farm. report found that 130 of every 100,000 Baltimore residents likely die in a given year due to long-term exposure to air pollution.. Donna Harrison, 51, who bought a $64,000 house in Curtis Bay with her husband in 2010, said she often saw dead birds on the street. Heres our March newsletter! Applications were due byDecember 5, 2011. In June 2016, after months of pressure from Free Your Voice and the strong anti-incinerator coalition they built, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) determined that Energy Answers 2010 permit had expired. Were not going to let up.. The charges were later dropped. On February 10, residents of South Baltimore joined with environmentalists and United Workers to file a notice of intent to sue the developer over the status of the permit. We had a blow-up kids pool out back, and every morning it was black again, with the black stuff lapping in the water.. (Fern Shen). Full-time. So when I received, Read More Our Favorite Pollution Reports of the YearContinue, This is meant to be a blog post about Blue Water Baltimores advocacy work and it is but Im going to make it a wee bit personal. In 2007 and 2008, Curtis Bays zip code ranked first in the entire country for quantity of toxic air pollutants. When this happens, its usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or its been deleted. So the group functions as a safe space for them to come together and share that. A new waste-to-energy incinerator plant has been proposed in the Curtis Bay neighborhood of Baltimore. The, And the existing incinerator, Wheelabrator, sits just four miles away from the proposed site for the new one. They have organized against Energy Answers' waste-to-energy incinerator planned for a location within one mile of three schools in Curtis Bay. According to an, Wheelabrator is also one of the top lead-producing incinerators in the country, according to, Rosanne McTyre, an epidemiologist and scientific consultant who independently reviewed the report at Wheelabrators request, supported the reports findings in an interview with, Even so, the integrity project was able to advocate for a regulatory change in 2018 that required Wheelabrator Baltimore to cut its nitrogen oxide emissions, This February, a group called the Fair Development Roundtable launched the, Maryland has really failed at supporting composting and other methods that would accomplish what incineration is claiming that they accomplish, Kunze said. The problem is that Curtis Bay already hosts a 200-acre coal pier that produces black dust that collects on local streets and drifts inside windows, a fertilizer plant reeking of fresh manure, one of the nations largest medical waste incinerators, chemical plants, fuel depots, and an open-air composting site. Not have people makes decisions and let that stand by. But while the Environmental Protection Agency has given its seal of approval by classifying the new plants as renewable energy akin to solar and wind power the facilities are an expensive and perhaps risky gamble. That was what really motivated us to stop this proposal. The United Workers is a Baltimore- based human rights organization, founded in 2002 by homeless day laborers, that is dedicated to building a movement to end poverty and to securing economic human rights through fair development. ILSR supports the Zero Waste principles defined by the Zero Waste International Alliance. Plant Operator. Landfill methane emissions can also be virtually eliminated if people compost their food waste rather than dumping it. So far, there have been no reported injuries. But by some metrics, burning trash can be even dirtier than burning coal, emitting lead, mercury, nitrogen oxides, dioxins and particulate matter associated with increased risk of cardiac and respiratory disease. Smaller than 1/20th the width of a human hair, fine particulate matter escapes the lung's defense mechanisms. According to an analysis by the integrity project, the incinerator produced on average more than 33 times more mercury per unit of energy in 2018 than the average amount produced by the states four largest coal plants. Happy Spring! Despite pollution controls that would reduce incinerator emissions from what they would have been decades ago, Energy Answers will still be permitted to emit 156 tons a year of fine particulate matter as well as 446 tons of sulfur dioxide, a particulate matter precursor. WebBaltimore Clean Air Act. Whether thats homelessness, whether thats going to college and at the same time try to lead a movement, or whether thats you know lack of access to the basics. This February, a group called the Fair Development Roundtable launched the Fair Development Plan for Zero Waste, calling for an end to incineration and investment in zero-waste initiatives like banning single-use plastic and implementing universal composting and recycling services. Email* But remove the citys 5 percent credit for trash incineration and that number drops to 23 percent. Next week is International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW). Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. courses and new recreational facilities once the plant opens. After the coal terminal explosion, shattered glass on the sidewalk in the 1600 block of Filbert Street. Kelly said she had learned the hard way that stopping a proposed incinerator is easier than shutting down an existing one. We are incredibly proud of the MDE for making the right decision helping us move forward towards a future filled with truly green developments. We will be distributing stickers to local businesses to showcases their commitment to participation in the zero waste movement through Reuse and allowing for BYO; Meaning we all can participate in zero waste by bringing [], Submit your comments on the Solid Waste Management Plan next Monday, March 27, 6-7:30pm. WebBaltimores Curtis Bay Community Says No to Clean Incinerator Electricity. CCAN is the sister organization of CCAN Action Fund: This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Currently, it ranks first in Maryland in these pollutants. Curtis Bay Energy is Baltimores 13th-largest polluter, and is the nations largest medical waste incinerator of course, located in Curtis Bay! Alternative and renewable sources of energy are important, but waste-to-energy incinerators of this type are not actually greenbut rather dressed it up in green. Vacancies The proposed facility would be allowed to emit up to 240 pounds of mercury and 1,000 pounds of lead annually in a neighborhood with three schools and high rates of cancer and asthma. Boy: I want us to continue to grow, continue to like become leaders and continue to get the community actively involved in decision making. The address listed for the facility has no outstanding building code notices or citations from the city Department of Housing and Community Development. Destiny Watford, a local resident who has been leading the campaign against the incinerator, said: Today marks a crucial point in the communities of Brooklyn, Curtis Bay and Brooklyn Park. Of the 73 incinerators still in operation, just one was built in the 2000s. Other residents say they are eager for the plant to be built, in part because Energy Answers has pledged to create jobs and signed an agreement promising at least $50,000 a year to be used for job training, low-interest home loans, G.E.D. A landfill in West Palm Beach. And Baltimore, according to a 2013 report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, had the highest emissions-related mortality rate of 5,695 American cities studied. Home to two medical waste incinerators, a landfill, an open-air coal pier, and several chemical and fertilizer companies, Curtis Bay could be described as one of the most environmentally unhealthy and uninhabitable places in Baltimore. Baltimores asthma hospitalization rates are three times higher than the national average. Baltimore and Palm Beach County each have recycling rates of about 30 percent. When we found out that the air quality is worse than anywhere else in Md we looked at each other, what did we get ourselves into? I have no more thousands of dollars to go move no where. Opponents of the Fairfield Renewable Energy Project take heart in states action to halt work at the South Baltimore incinerator. Soon, it could also be home to a plant producing carcinogenic emissions from burning as much as 4,000 tons of shredded tires, vinyl, construction debris and other waste per day. Thomas Kinnaman, who studies the economics of solid waste and recycling at Bucknell University, said public enthusiasm about recycling, once viewed as fashionable, had cooled. A listing of our collaborative partners. The Baltimore City Council voted to approve a bill that would require trash incinerators in the city to either abide by stricter environmental regulations or shut down on Monday, Feb. 4. students started doing presentations, and really organizing around the city. WebCurtis Bay Medical Waste Services Jobs and Careers. Conaway, whose family has lived in Curtis Bay since 1999, said the community has been suffering for years from the unhealthy effects of heavy industry. Baltimore has agreed to a stay of the city's Clean Air Act until a lawsuit with several parties, including Wheelabrator and Curtis Bay Energy, is resolved. Waste-to-energy incinerators gained traction in the 1980s, as an environmentally-friendly alternative to throwing trash in landfills by burning it and converting it to energy. By Bob Berwyn, Photography by Michele Lapini. Most incinerators in operation today were built in the 1980s and 1990s, with a life expectancy of about 30 years. Development that puts our needs first. Today, few other options are available. Were taking charge and were trying to talk to residents and see what they want to see, asking them what they need, and making sure that their vision for what they want to see for their community actually happens, Campbell said. At the state level, advocates like Kunze are pushing for a change in legislation that would strip incineration of its Tier 1 designation. This area is home to a medical waste incinerator, a coal pile and a landfill, causing many issues for the neighborhood and it's residents. A recently published paper from MIT estimated that there were 200,000 premature deaths nationwide in 2005 from fine particulate matter. Our library of local, state, and federal policies on waste, recycling, composting and economic development. Andy Dize, president of the Community of Curtis Bay Association, said the plant would be a clear boon to the neighborhood, given the agreement and the promised jobs. One of the first to offer an explanation was City Councilman Eric Costello, who said on Twitter that the sound was caused by a propane tank explosion at the CSX Coal Pier in Curtis Bay., His statement that no injuries had been reported was reassuring. Residents posted photos of shattered window glass on the sidewalk. We should reduce our waste, not just burn it. They are watershed stewards and community heroes. Weblargest medical waste incinerator in the U.S. formerly Phoenix Services, Inc., and before that, known as Medical Waste Associates, Inc. Girl: I mean its one thing to say, thats a good cause and everything like that but to really come out and join us and become a part of it is really what I hope for bc if we can stop this we can stop anything. It is to burn 3,000 tons of a trash a day. These types of power plants emit numerous different pollutants, including conventional greenhouse gases, particulate This story map showcases issue within Curtis Bay and what is being done by the city and it's community members to fight back. They repelled Energy Answers efforts to site a new trash incinerator in Curtis Bay and were a hub of resistance to the renewal of the citys contract to send its trash to the nearby BRESCO incinerator, Baltimores current biggest source of The mayors office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Not just saying it but actually doing it. This community is predominantly people of color, and of low income. It will be permitted to emit 600 tons of nitrogen oxides and 96 tons of volatile organic compounds, both ozone precursors. We knew that hearing those things wasnt OK, Campbell said. A protest against the Curtis Bay incinerator. Lead will be deposited on homes and in school yards. That right is being disrespected by the potential of this project. The proposed Energy Answers incinerator would have been just the latest source of pollutants that Campbell and her community were breathing in every day. Instead of an incinerator, the community has been pushing for more positive development alternatives that would create truly green jobs without putting residents health at risk. By educating people about what they can recycle, providing large free recycling bins and providing a smaller trash bin, they were able to bring community recycling rates up to 43 percent. Man: No Not surprisingly, Curtis Bay has high mortality rates from heart attacks, lower respiratory diseases and lung cancer, all health conditions related to air pollution. Greg: Ok, take care Breathing clean air is a human right. where. My name is Mike Aaron. Lots of blown-out windows at nearby residences, Kevin Kacin responded. Technical Assistance Give them a like and a follow to see whats good. We are here today.. We invited them out to the community just to see Curtis Bay for themselves bc its one thing to hear about a community that is surrounded by an industrial area or surrounded by pollution but its another thing to actually see it. VICTORY FOR CLEAN AIR: MARYLAND PULLS PERMIT FOR NATIONS LARGEST TRASH BURNING INCINERATOR Greg Sawtell, United Workers(513) 638-7107,greggalen@gmail.com. Per kilowatt hour, waste to energy produces more lead, mercury, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide than the two Baltimore coal-fired plants. Posted Posted 30 days ago. Instead, it trucks everything including plastic, glass, paper and other recyclables to an incinerator. Posted Today. Where the Waste Comes From; FAQs; Curtis Bay Energy; Campaigns. Swinton and Campbell, however, dont see incineration and landfills as the citys only two options. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. They were joined in their efforts by Kunze, who had seen her hometown of Frederick, Marylandless than an hour awaytake up its own fight against a proposed WTE incinerator when she was in middle school. It has encountered far less opposition, though much of the dissent has been centered on aplanto accept trash from outside Palm Beach County for at least eight years, until the countys population catches up with the incinerators capacity. Environmental groups oppose them, saying that although cleaner than the incinerators of the past, waste-to-energy plants still emit mercury, lead, dioxins and a variety of other toxic substances. Maryland is one of the only states in the country that classifies incineration as a renewable energy like wind or solar. However, a 2019 report prepared for Wheelabrator disputed those conclusions and said the facilitys emissions were not having an impact on community health. She targeted Energy Answer Internationals permit to build the incinerator, which had been issued in 2010. To burn, or not to burn?. Zip Code* PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. To recap, New York-based Energy Answers had started construction on a massive waste-to-energy incinerator in south Baltimores Curtis Bay area. The nations largest trash burning incinerator would be built on the site of a former pesticide factory. Portland, Ore., which recycles about 60 percent of its garbage, collects household garbage just twice each month, but picks up recyclables and food scraps weekly. Even so, a waste management hierarchy created by the Environmental Protection Agency listed energy recovery through incineration above throwing trash in a landfill. With a permit thats expired and other job-generating but non-polluting projects waiting in the wings, shouldnt a controversial South Baltimore incinerator project be declared dead, opponents are saying to state officials. Asking questions, raising the issue, and really that culminated in taking that issue directly at a city school board meeting. The proposed Curtis Bay facility is expected to produce hundreds of pounds of mercury and lead emissions each year mercury and lead that will be breathed by young students in Curtis Bay, and mercury and lead that will further contaminate the already contaminated adjacent Patapsco River. Curtis Bay and Brooklyn are adjacent to communities in Anne Arundel County, MD which are also celebrating this grass roots victory. The plan also recommends more local infrastructure for recycling and composting, which would provide clean energy jobs upon Wheelabrators closure. When organic material breaks down in landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) found today that the New York-based developers of the Energy Answers waste-to-energy plant, proposed for Fairfield, allowed the projects permit to expire when they stopped construction on October 31, 2013. You wipe things down, and an hour later that black soots all over them again, Above: A CSX coal plant explosion in December sends billowing clouds of smoke over Curtis Bay. If built, this facility would have been the largest trash-burning incinerator in the United States, able to burn 4,000 tons of waste per day. Students from Benjamin Franklin High School opposed to the plants construction canvassed the neighborhood this summer. The intent was for Tier 2 sources, which also included hydropower, to act as a sort of bridge fuel and be phased out over time, said Jennifer Kunze, an advocate with Clean Water Action. Nearly 80 percent are located in environmental justice communities, meaning that they are disproportionately located near communities of color and people with higher than average rates of poverty. The Baltimore Department of Public Works new waste management plan recommends the continued use of incineration for now, citing a lack of ready alternatives. We are confident that any settlement with Wheelabrator essentially means that they would have an agreement to have their contract extended beyond 2021, Swinton said. It is often simpler, she said, to pursue stricter regulations on proposed incinerators because of the permit requirement. Route what. Residents of Curtis Bay already occupy the most polluted zip code in the ENTIRE NATION according to EPAs toxic pollution emissions inventory in 2007 and 2008 and currently bear the brunt of 37% of the total toxic air emissions in the entire state all in one small zip code. Without a valid permit, the project was effectively dead in the water. The area already hosts a 200-acre coal pier, seen here in the background, across the street from the Curtis Bay Recreation Center. Community members have been working to bring truly green community driven positive alternatives like solar, recycling, and composting that provides good jobs for residents, and doesnt put our lives at risk. The more people who take part, the less expensive it becomes.. Not only should it not be built so close to their school, it should not be built at all. Debra: I may complain about long hours in the field during the spring and fall, but by the time January comes around, Im definitely itching to be outside again. The two were awarded the, Shutting Down an Existing Incinerator is a Harder Game, A case in point: Wheelabrator Baltimore. Dioxin, one of the most dangerous chemicals, is formed when chlorinated organic compounds are incinerated, and hence, incinerators are the major source of dioxin in the environment. Officially, Baltimore recycles about 28 percent of its trash. Woman 2: Well I dont think its fair to have to grow up with the pollution it already is and then think we are going to get more. Weve been building plants around the world, so the technology is there, said Larry A. Hiner, a manager with Babcock & Wilcox, the North Carolina-based company building the Florida plant. That is the motivation behind the, Read More Painting Baltimore BlueContinue, Become a VolunteerHerring Run Nursery Events PressDonate, About UsGet Involved Our Solutions Contact UsCareersSwag, 2631 Sisson St. Baltimore, MD 21211410-254-1577[emailprotected], Blue Water Baltimore is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In recent years, $6o million in terminal upgrades were made so that a large percentage of coal can go directly from the rail car to an oceangoing vessel or coastal barge, eliminating the need to store coal on the ground for any significant length of time, CSX says. Community leaders say they have been trying, without success, to get state and local officials to do something about the facility and others in their industrial waterfront community. Subscribe Now. We had a kids pool out back, and every morning it was black again Janet Clark, Curtis Bay. Maryland Department of the Environment Decides that Permit has Expired for Construction of Energy Answers Incinerator in South Baltimore, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2016 Free Your Voice was never content just to stop the incinerator. We have joined forces with the national effort, led by withUS Reduces, to launch the Baltimore Reduces campaign. The Act placed further restrictions on Wheelabrator, requiring the facility to monitor 20 major pollutants in real time to facilitate transparency, and imposing much stricter regulation of the facilitys emissions. Ive now been working for Blue Water Baltimore for five months. For the love of God. They had planned to drop off petitions written on sunflowers but ended up facing down scores of Baltimore police and seeing seven of their group get arrested. In addition to the coal terminal, the area is home to a medical waste incinerator, a rendering plant, various chemical factories, a sewage treatment plant and the citys sprawling Quarantine Road Landfill. With trespassing charges against them dismissed today, the seven activists fighting a trash-to-energy plant near Curtis Bay went right back over to Maryland Department of the Environment headquarters at the Montgomery Park building precisely where they were arrested a month ago. If the decision is going to harm a lot of people, I want us to know when to get the community to step up and fight. Recycling rateshave barely budged over the past decade, and composting rates are in decline, according to the E.P.A. We can no longer afford environmentally, nor health wise, to be a culture that throws away (or burns) what we don't want anymore. Roanoke, VA. Shashawnda Campbell became an environmental activist at 15, when she learned that a company had proposed building the countrys largest waste-to-energy incinerator less than a mile from her high school, in the Curtis Bay section of Baltimore. In 2009, the Curtis Bay ZIP code ranked among the top nationally for the release of toxic emissions more than 13.6 million pounds, according to the E.P.A. WebCurtis Bay Defeats the Energy Answers Incinerator Students, residents, and advocates successfully defeated Energy Answers plan to build the nations largest trash-burning incinerator in the Curtis Bay neighborhood of Baltimore in 2016. Sharps Tech. Ash from the incinerator makes up over 40 percent of the waste dumped in Baltimores Quarantine Road Landfill, which is also located near Curtis Bay. Students from Benjamin Franklin high school in Baltimore, Md., are fighting the construction of a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator plant in their already highly toxic neighborhood, Curtis Bay. Dr. Gwen DuBois is an internist at Sinai, a member of the board of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and a member of the public health committee of Med/Chi. The students at Benjamin Franklin High School have it right. In reality, the picture is a little more complicated. OMalley and the legislature redesignated WTE incineration from Tier 2 to Tier 1 renewable energy, putting it on a par with wind and solar power. It has resulted in millions of dollars in subsidies for Wheelabrator each year, paid for by Maryland ratepayers. Then show your support by joining them in person on Tuesday. WebAccording to activists who regularly protest outside Washington Surgi-Clinic located at 2112 F St NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037, on March 25, 2022, a driver for Curtis Bay Energy relinquished several medical waste boxes after being told aborted babies were inside them. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A quarter of the trash burned in incinerators remains as ash that still needs to be sent to a landfill. Theres always got to be some give and take, and Curtis Bay will be worse off if this isnt built, he said. Advocates for recycling in the city argue that this and other, similar credits obscure the citys actual residential recycling rate, and that it hovers, Before this years legislative session ended abruptly because of the pandemic, Kunze was working on getting, Meanwhile, the justice network has focused its efforts on fighting to restore the clean air Act, which would have imposed much stricter regulations on Wheelabrator. But in order to turn a profit, Wheelabrator needs to have a steady influx of trash from Baltimore and surrounding areas (only about 40 percent of the waste it burns comes from the city, with the rest trucked in from elsewhere in the state). Baltimore, MD. Facilities similar to the $670 million incinerator here, common in Europe, are under consideration in Massachusetts, Nevada, Virginia, Wisconsin and elsewhere. A case in point: Wheelabrator Baltimore. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Rising from a denuded landscape not far from this areas famed beaches, the nations first new commercial garbage incinerator in 20 years is about to be fired up, ready to blast up to 3,000 tons of trash a day into electricity for thousands of houses. Weve been providing the data, the potential financing options, the potential structure, the suggestions of how to engage communities, and show that people will recycle at a greater rate, he said. Most are nearing, or have surpassed, their original life expectancy. These health impacts were especially worrisome because of the two schools located less than a mile from the plants proposed property boundary. Learn more about the 20/20 Vision for Fair Development, Help promote policies that keep fossil fuels in the ground. Under the federal Clean Air Act, approval to build a major source of air pollution, like the Energy Answers incinerator, expires if a company halts construction for a period of eighteen months or more. This will be the cleanest waste-to-energy plant in the United States, Mr. Hammond said. In a statement provided to InsideClimate News, Wheelabrator market manager Michael Dougherty called Wheelabrator Baltimore a strong advocate of reuse initiatives in the city, saying that the company has distributed 1,400 free recycling bins throughout Baltimore and actively promoted composting.. A simple question asked on the radio: does her administration support the trash-burning power plant proposed in South Baltimore? Other communities of color across the United States also have successfully shuttered their incinerators in recent years. Seven of the protestors conducted a sit-in, refusing to leave the building until MDE issued a decision that the permit had expired. It would have burned different kinds of trash, including plastic, rubber, vinyl, and metal, in addition to regular household garbage. Baltimore Reduces; Deconstruction; Baltimore City Solid Waste Planning; Recycling in Baltimore; Zero Waste; Composting; City-Adopted Policies; DONATE Maryland has really failed at supporting composting and other methods that would accomplish what incineration is claiming that they accomplish, Kunze said. DM for an invite to join our virtual meetups. The Baltimore Department of Public Works new, Swinton and Campbell are hoping that the city will reconsider and use cutting ties with the incinerator as an opportunity to, But in order to turn a profit, Wheelabrator needs to have a steady influx of trash from Baltimore and surrounding areas (only about 40 percent of the waste it burns comes from the city, with the rest trucked in from elsewhere in the state). Time is on our side., A version of this article appears in print on, Garbage Incinerators Make Comeback, Kindling Both Garbage and Debate, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/us/garbage-incinerators-make-comeback-kindling-both-garbage-and-debate.html. The city says eliminating recycling has saved it $500,000 a year. Steph is a zero waste expert, accredited through Zero Waste USA and is a TRUE Advisor. Want to see this list grow? Demonstrated passion for our watershed and five years minimum experience in the environmental field are required; legal background, Read More Blue Water Baltimore is Hiring a WATERKEEPERContinue, Now that winter is almost upon us, we have a chance to take a breather and look back on what weve done this year. These cities of color are getting opportunities to move towards zero waste and cleaner air, Swinton said. This does not include what comes out of the tailpipes from the 400 to 600 diesel trucks a day that will be hauling waste into Curtis Bay and carrying away treated toxic ash. The Maryland State Department of the Environment pulled the permit on the proposed 4,000 ton per day incinerator to be built in the long suffering industrial communities of Curtis Bay-Brooklyn on the Fairfield Peninsula in south Baltimore. Man: I can not stop right now, Im busy Cities have adopted disparate policies, with Ocean City, Md., having recently dispensed with curbside recycling altogether. They began organizing marches and going door-to-door to raise awareness about the proposed incinerator and the pollutants they feared it would pump into their air. These participating businesses welcome you to BYO, Bring Your Own, takeout container when ordering food and beverages to go! Baltimore does not currently meet air quality standards for either ozone or particulate matter pollution. Through her work as Maryland Program Manager for Clean Water Action, Kunze has been advocating for policies to remove incentives for incineration in the state. Requires Wheelabrator Baltimore trash incinerator and Curtis Bay Energy medical waste incinerator to continuously monitor 20 air pollutants and report the data on a website in real-time by September 2020. The experience was eye-opening for Campbell, who said that many people she spoke with told her personal stories about developing health problems like asthma or cancer only after moving to Curtis Bay. This is a great decision for clean air and for environmental justice, said Leah Kelly, Attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project. This plant would have been a large source of toxic air pollution in an area that already has a high air pollution burden. MDE is charged with enforcing the letter of the law, and it is had done so with this decision.. Permits come with an expiration date so that a company cant apply for a permit, sit on the site, and then build its facility 10 years later under out-of-date requirements. Go outsidethey told me, this is the worst time to go outside and play, when the sun is up! A mural in Curtis Bay. Would you like us to leave one of the papers at the door? But photos today showed large piles of coal still on the ground. Instead, theyre calling for a broader move toward fair development and community control of land in Baltimore. The massive, aging incinerator is also the focus of intensifying environmental opposition that aims not only to shut it down but to end what activists see as the states bizarre policy preference for the incineration of trash over more sustainable alternatives. TEXT CARD: Students from Benjamin Franklin High School have been fighting the development of an incinerator in their community for nearly three years. Instead, theyre calling for a broader move toward fair development and community control of land in Baltimore. Today the Maryland Department of the Environment did just that. What happened at todays demonstration against the Energy Answers project, held at Maryland Department of the Environment headquarters. Even so, the integrity project was able to advocate for a regulatory change in 2018 that required Wheelabrator Baltimore to cut its nitrogen oxide emissions by 200 tons, as of May 2020. With landfills shunned, recycling programs stalled and the countrys record-setting trash output unyielding, new waste-to-energy plants are being eyed as a path to salvation. You wipe things down, and an hour later that black soots all over them again, said Clark, who lives about 200 yards from the coal pier. Curtis Bay residents fought and we won and now our vision is finally coming into focus. //

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