Back from France trip, GCC gets letter from Paris NGO against incinerator plant plan
A team of engineers, led by GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, had travelled to Paris and Barcelona on a study tour for a week, seeking insights into the WtE technology used in both European cities.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC)
CHENNAI: Back from a visit to France and Spain, a Greater Chennai Corporation delegation received a letter from Collectif 3R, a Paris-based NGO, through the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association (FNCRWA) opposing its move to set up waste-to-energy plants.
A team of engineers, led by GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, had travelled to Paris and Barcelona on a study tour for a week, seeking insights into the WtE technology used in both European cities.
In the letter, Collectif 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) wrote, “We deeply appreciate your commitment to addressing the pressing challenge of waste management in India. We feel compelled to share with you our insights as independent observers, researchers, and advocates who have been monitoring the WtE incineration facility at Ivry-sur-Seine, Paris’s largest waste incinerator, and its impact over the past decades.”
It said that a series of new studies had revealed alarming levels of dioxins, polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals in the environment surrounding the incinerators in France, Spain and The Netherlands. “In Paris, soil and moss samples taken near schools and public spaces in Ivry-sur-Seine and the surrounding towns showed dioxin levels above EU-safety thresholds, sometimes 10 times higher than the maximum limit recommended by the European Union for Food Consumption. Massive heavy metal pollution was observed in moss samples taken from four schools too, with levels exceeding 100 times the maximum recommended thresholds for food consumption for aluminium, cobalt, lead and tin,” the letter said.
Pointing out that the EU’s policy had shifted away from the WtE to zero-waste, it pointed out, “It’s ironic that, despite EU’s clear policy to move away from WtEs, this visit is facilitated to showcase WtE as a model of ‘clean’ technology and a climate-friendly solution. We also strongly condemn the EU’s environmental hypocrisy, or what we call ‘green colonialism’.”
It suggested that India, with its rich reuse and community-based waste management traditions, embrace a zero-waste approach. “We can also assist you further in implementing zero waste cities by sharing the best zero waste management practices in the EU,” it said.
After speaking to ‘Collectif 3R’ to know more about the impact of the WtE plant in Paris, Vishwaja Sampath of the Chennai Climate Action Group, opined: “The Collectif 3R representative wanted the GCC to scrap its proposal to set up WtE plants in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi. Instead, they can choose micro-processing centres and material recovery centres in Chennai.”
