Burning our garbage impacts our future beyond toxic ash. By whatever rebranding, incineration returns only a tiny fraction of the energy it takes, wasting both energy and resources.

Incinerators built today would still be burning our recoverable resources by 2050—polluting environment and residents, accelerating climate change (one ton GHG per ton burned) while fossil fuels and all critical materials are being depleted and world population grows to 9.2 billion people. Our region will to grow to 3.4 million people, while globally, net energy may decline to 40%.

Instead of wasting our tax and fossil fuel resources on the dead-end disposal economy of incineration and ash landfill, we can invest public money in economic renewal. We can fully develop our diversion economy; build resource recovery parks, recycling and composting capacity.

We need to remanufacture our recycled materials locally to prepare for the failure of overseas markets as “the eighteen-wheeler of globalization is thrown into reverse” by the ever-rising price of oil.

Instead of hastening planet Armageddon, our tax dollars can mitigate the impact of peak oil, peak food, global recession and climate change. We can start by buying the Catalyst paper recycling mill in Coquitlam.