A chara, - If The Irish Times is a paper of record, please allow me to set the record straight.
A headline in your edition of March 5th which links Mr Valfrid Paulsson with the Swedish Greens is both bizarre and incorrect. Mr Paulsson was actually a member of the Social Democrats. The Green Party/Comhaontas Glas disagrees profoundly with his views on incineration.
Rather than compare Ireland with countries which incinerate and are therefore inclined to defend that policy in their own national interest, I suggest we need to learn from countries which are able to organise themselves without thermal treatment.
Incineration-free countries such as New Zealand are in a position to strongly market their food exports as clean and green, just like Ireland at present.
However, the Government's pro-incineration policy is set to erode Ireland's competitive advantage as a high quality food exporter, as well as damaging health.
Is is not time for The Irish Times to report on how incineration destroys resources and creates a legacy of many toxic chemicals in a cocktail form, only a small fraction of which are intermittently tested?
Is is not time to ask where the toxic ash created by incinerators is to go? Is is not time to present alternatives to "burn and bury" policies?
What about alkaline hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion to safely process special risk material? What about making methane for heating from organic matter? Using paper and organic matter mixed, composting and vermiculture can restore soil fertility. The Waste Management Act (1996) contains impressive proposals to make a zero waste strategy work by stopping the creation of waste in the first place on an urgent, phased basis.
The Greens have solution-based policies to deal with the crises in agriculture, health and waste.
Incineration will worsen these crises, not help solve them. - Is mise,
TREVOR SARGENT TD, Ceannaire, An Comhaontas Glas/Green Party, Dáil Éireann, Baile Átha Cliath 2.