» COMMUNITY ECO POWER (Pittsfield Trash Incinerator)
According to the National Resources Defense Council: “Regardless of what is being burned (mixed municipal solid waste, plastic, outputs from “chemical recycling”), waste incineration creates and/or releases harmful chemicals and pollutants, including:
- Air pollutants such as particulate matter, which cause lung and heart diseases
- Heavy metals such as lead and mercury, which cause neurological diseases
- Toxic chemicals, such as PFAS and dioxins, which cause cancer and other health problems
These chemicals and pollutants enter the air, water and food supply near incinerators and get into people’s bodies when they breathe, drink, and eat contaminants.”
Regarding high-tech alternatives to conventional incineration, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives reports: “Studies that have comprehensively reviewed gasification, pyrolysis and plasma in-cinerators have found that they provide little to no benefit when compared to mass burn incinerators, while being an even riskier investment… The core impacts of all types of incinerators remain the same: they are toxic to public health, harmful to the economy, environment and climate, and undermine recycling and waste reduction programs.”
Reports
An Industry BlowIng Smoke
10 reasons why gasification, Pyrolysis & Plasma Incineration are not “green solutions”
By Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
June, 2019
News
» A new owner, Casella, is rewriting trash disposal in Pittsfield. Costs are up nearly a third
By Matt Martinez, The Berkshire Eagle
December 29, 2022
» If Pittsfield trash incinerator plant sale goes through it will close, which could mean you’ll pay more for trash disposal
By Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle
March 11, 2022
» Combustion of plastics could be creating a surge in waste-to-energy plants’ climate emissions
Incineration of plastics containing “forever chemicals” could be generating potent greenhouse gas emissions, but testing methods are not yet in place.
By Marina Schauffler, Energy News Network
February 25, 2022
» A potential buyer could turn Pittsfield’s waste-to-energy plant into a transfer station. That’s news to city officials
By Felix Carroll, The Berkshire Eagle
February 12, 2022
» Trash is a burning question with mixed answers in some Mass. towns
By Hannah Chanatry, WBUR
January 20, 2022
» Burned: Why Waste Incineration Is Harmful
By Daniel Rosenberg, Veena Singla, and Darby Hoover, NRDC | Expert Blog
July 19, 2021