One of the children was saying “Most
of the people in the world wants more
and more. This creates consumption monsters,
increasing the consumption all over the
world. And this damages the world day
by day. We musn't forget the nature whatever
we consume.” while another claimed
the only solution to save the environment
is zero waste.
The
Greenteam children painted a 400*60cm
banner with their individual messages
on it such as “Don’t waste
our future” and attached zero waste
posters on the banner during the press
conference. The children also explained
the context of their exhibition on zero
waste they prepared in 2003. The banner,
full of slogans, mini-compositions, graphics,
all created by the kids, was reflecting
the mood that captured the children, that
their elders were doing something wrong
in relation to the growing waste problem.
The
report of GAIA that Greenpeace launched
today gives very concrete and clear numbers
comparing incineration to zero waste approach.
It gives all economic pitfalls apart from
its hazards of persistent pollution. Incinerating
waste releases heavy metals and persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), such as cancer
causing dioxins, the most toxics chemicals
known to science, into the environment.
POPs are known to wreak havoc in the environment
and to damage human health. They can even
be found contaminating the unborn foetus
and damaging the genes of the embryo.
Turkey is one of 151 countries that have
agreed under the Stockholm Convention,
that POPs are so dangerous they must be
eliminated from the planet. The Convention
identifies incinerators as a primary source
of dioxins.
“The
children give a better picture of the
huge waste problem
where governments and adults keep ignoring.
The only solution to stop this irreversible
problem is definitely not incinerating
which only wastes all our resources and
damages our health.” said Banu Dokmecibasi,
toxics campaigner for Greenpeace Mediterranean.
Dokmecibasi
followed: “Why invest millions of
dollars in a technology that at the end
of 30 years leaves you with a pile of
potentially toxic ash, when that same
money could be redirected to readily available
cheaper and safer options that create
many more jobs, new businesses, and wealth
for local communities? If Turkey is serious
about eliminating these dangerous poisons,
the government must ban incineration immediately
and take urgent steps towards switching
to zero waste policy which includes all
alternative disposal technologies and
clean production.”
At
least 16 jurisdictions worldwide have
banned or restricted municipal solid waste
incineration. Chicago, California’s
Alameda County, and Rhode Island are U.S.
examples. The Philippines is the first
country to explicitly ban all types of
waste incineration.
For
further information:
Banu
Dökmecibacý
Toxics Campaigner
Greenpeace Mediterranean Turkey
Phone: +90 532 263 11 14
bdokmeci@diala.greenpeace.org
Ertan Keskinsoy
Communications Officer
Greenpeace Mediterranean Turkey
Phone: +90 532 324 32 04
ertan.keskinsoy@diala.greenpeace.org
Notes:
*
Greenteams is a project within the Greenpeace
world, run in various countries. It is
not only an awareness raising activity
for the children, but a project to increase
the initiative building capacity of the
children to protect their environment.
In Turkey, our project is run
since December 2002, when the Greenpeace
ship Esperanza visited Turkey.
* GAIA is an international alliance of
community-based organisations, research
and policy advocacy institutions, citizen
pressure groups and other nonprofit organizations
and individuals working to end the burning
of all types of discards and to promote
clean production, zero waste, and sustainable
waste management systems.
* The report is available as a PDF file
on GAIA’s web site, located at http://www.no-burn.org.
The first part of the report is devoted
to the economic problems posed by incinerators
and includes a section on how to evaluate
a planned incinerator. The second part
focuses on non-burn alternatives readily
available, and concludes with a 10-step
plan for getting started on the path toward
zero waste at the local level.
* The Greenpeace fact sheets on ‘why
ban incineration’, ‘zero waste’
and ‘Stockholm Convention’
can be downloaded from http://www.greenpeace.org.tr/toksik/news/disney150404/WEB%20
Stockholm%20Brifing.doc
http://www.greenpeace.org.tr/toksik/atikyakma.htm
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