A Canadian environmental group is urging the province to deny a request
from two companies that want to burn Blue Box materials and recyclable
hazardous waste.
The Toronto Environmental Alliance has sent a letter to Environment Minister
Leona Dombrowsky asking her to turn down proposals from Stelco and LaFarge
Cement to burn paper, plastics, used tires and motor oil at their plants as
a cheap ’’energy-from-waste’’ fuel substitute. The alliance fears such
burning will harm people and the environment.
’’If these certificates of approval are approved, these industries will be
allowed to release pollutants that can cause smog, climate change and acid
rain, along with heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as dioxin and glycol,
into our communities,’’ Shelly Petrie, the group’s executive director, said
in a release Thursday.
Stelco’s application involves a blast furnace in Nanticoke, west of
Hamilton, while LaFarge’s request pertains to its cement kiln on the shore
of Lake Ontario, west of Kingston. The alliance is also worried that other
companies across Ontario are poised to make similar applications.
