Madam, - I read with interest Minister Martin Cullen's claim (April 6th) that anti-incinerator groups think some sort of magic wand will take away the waste management problem.
I cannot speak for any of these groups but I know that zero waste, far from being a magic wand, is a practical and sophisticated solution increasingly popular with governments and businesses worldwide.
It does require hard work and the commitment of everyone involved, but it works.
Indeed, if anyone seems to have a naive belief in magic wands, it is the Minister.
Does he really think that burning waste will make it go away?
Any secondary school chemistry student could tell him that combustion simply converts material into other forms. Mass incineration produces harmful gaseous emissions and residual ash.
I call on the Minister to reconsider his obsession with the magic wand approach of incineration, which only gives an illusion of problem-solving, and give adequate consideration to alternative, more up-to-date and sustainable approaches to waste management.
Let us not be bullied by his threats and scaremongering in relation to economic development. Instead, let us demand cleaner solutions. - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN RICHARDSON, The Spires, Carrignafoy, Cobh, Co Cork.