DEW Environmental Watch Drakenstein was established shortly after news of the proposed Waste-to-Energy Plant for Wellington broke.
DEW, a lobbying and advocacy group of concerned residents, recently held another meeting with the Drakenstein Municipality, saying they now have more questions than answers.
“We are concerned by the fact that a private company, Interwaste, has been appointed as preferential service provider according to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Drakenstein Municipality signed in 2012,” a DEW statement says. “As preferential supplier for the WTE (Waste-to-Energy) Plant, Interwaste will eventually also be responsible for the management of the Municipal land fill site. The council states that alternative methods of waste reduction was investigated, and concluded that the only workable option would be the WTE route.
“Consequently, the council undertook in the MOA with Interwaste to: off-load, at a tipping tariff, the full volume of collected solid waste from Paarl and Wellington towns to the WTE Plant, not embark on any waste reduction or reclamation programme, except public awareness programmes; and not consent to, register or approve of a licence to any external service provider to operate a commercial service of which the effect would be or potentially could be a reduction of the general waste stream that will be delivered to the WTE Plant.
“Is the recycling project, which so many tax payers diligently support, simply a smokescreen?”
DEW also alleged that the community was never consulted nor asked for their input before 2012. The group says the proposed project aims to create approximately 200 formal jobs, but feels that if the MOA is enforced, thousands of individuals who collect recyclables and many small recycling businesses would lose their only source of income
“The WTE Plant will be located about 600 meters from the nearest houses, schools and day care centres,” DEW pointed out.
Two of the closest schools are St Albans Primary and Bergrivier Secondary Schools.
“Global research shows that people living close to incinerators are exposed to toxic waste products such as fly ash and dioxins that can penetrate the body through the skin and mucous membranes,” DEW says.
“Should the WTE Plant be erected and the proposed 500 tonnes of waste be burned on a daily basis, it should be borne in mind that 7 500 tonnes of air will be consumed in the incineration process. That is the equivalent of the amount of air 600 000 people need on a daily basis, almost three times the total population of Drakenstein.”
DEW is also concerned about the negative impact such a plant would have on agriculture.
Acting Municipal Manager Jacques Carstens responded: “The only approval by council was indeed permission to investigate a waste reduction option, but with the express provision that all statutory processes be linked to suspensive conditions. This includes the environmental impact assessment, which will point out any possible negative effects of the proposed WTE Plant and may mean the process will not proceed. Only once all the processes have been finalised will this option for waste reduction be referred to council for a final decision.”
Carstens said the municipality notes the fears of some residents concerning negative environmental impacts, which are being addressed through an impact assessment process and its specialist studies, the results of which will need to be approved by the Department of Environmental Affairs.
“The writer refers to this project as an incinerator,” Carstens points out. “It is not. The WTE Plant will make use of heat and steam to produce electricity. This means converting the waste into something useful. An incinerator destroys the waste through fire with no other useful returns.”
He said the municipality has no intention to curb recycling and the project will not stop or prevent existing waste recycling businesses or activities in Drakenstein.
Any agreement between Interwaste and the municipality will focus on the services the latter is providing. The public will have more opportunities to make inputs once the draft assessments have been finalised through “open days”, planned for October onwards. For details, visit www.drakenstein.gov.za.
