Dear Friends,

Thank you for reading this Action Alert to stop the planned construction of an incinerator facility in Sasolburg, South Africa, for treating stockpiled hazardous waste. We hope that you can sign-on the following letter addressed to His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, President, South Africa. By signing on, you support the citizens' struggle for clean air and healthy environment and add your voice to the global consensus in favor of safe and sustainable alternatives to waste incineration. Your solidarity will strengthen community action against the incinerator project.

Background:

The Peacock Bay Environmental Services (PBES) Ltd., a South African company, is proposing to build and operate a commercial rotary kiln thermal oxidation treatment facility for stockpiled hazardous waste to be sited in Sasolburg, a town in Free State, South Africa that is home to large polluting oil refinery.

Environmental justice action groups and community associations are concerned that the incinerator project will only exacerbate the air pollution in Sasolburg, which is already causing serious health impacts due to citizens' long-term exposure to high levels of toxic pollutants in the environment. The incineration by-products, particularly the super toxic dioxins and furans, will spread further than the South Africa's borders and pose serious risks to other communities and nations.

Indeed the approval of the PBES incinerator proposal will have tragic consequences beyond South Africa's boundaries.

If the project pushes through, it might set a precedent and justify the construction of hazardous waste incinerators all over the African continent,
contrary to the spirit and intent of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs). Under the terms of the said Convention, alternatives that do not discharge toxic pollutants should receive a clear preference. Non-combustion technologies exist, which are capable of eradicating hazardous waste without creating or letting loose toxic pollutants into the environment. South Africa can also seek financial and technical assistance from Global Environmental Facility (GEF) for the safe decontamination and disposal of hazardous waste.

Please sign-on! With your support and solidarity, we can help the people of South Africa in convincing their Government to reject the PBES incinerator proposal and seek non-burn alternatives instead.

For more information, please visit www.groundwork.org.za, website of groundWork, a non-profit group that works closely with the Sasolburg Environmental Committee and other NGOs towards environmental justice and
sustainable development in South Africa. Or contact the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance at one-gaia@surfshop.net.ph

READ Letter to President Mbeki