Charleston County Council Pubilc Hearing:

6:30 pm, Tuesday, June 24

Gethsemane Community Center
2449 Beacon St., Charleston

An important issue impacting future air quality in North Charleston is before us.  The Montenay/Veolia Incinerator, which is located in the North Charleston neck area, has been burning Charleston County’s trash for the last 20 years, and they are currently negotiating with Charleston County Council to do the same for the next 20 years.

Incinerators are extremely dangerous to public health, and the County Council already realizes that the alternatives to the incinerator contract are more economically beneficial to the county.  In fact, after crunching the numbers and reviewing three other options, County Council voted unanimously last March to stop using the incinerator at the end of 2009.  Unfortunately, they are reconsidering this decision and putting the incinerator contract back on the table.

Shifting our waste disposal strategy from incineration to other alternatives such as aggressive recycling and waste reduction programs is a huge opportunity to improve our air quality and stop reduce other environmental degradation issues associated with incineration and with landfills.

County Council is having a public hearing on this issue next Tuesday, June 24, at 6:30 pm.  The meeting will be held at Gethsemane Community Center at 2449 Beacon St. in Charleston.  Please spread the word and plan to attend!

For more information on the incinerator and its health impacts, please check out “The Charleston County Incinerator” from the Charleston Chapter Sierra Club’s website.  For more information about what has been happening with County Council, please check out these articles:

Tony Bartlelme, "County Incinerator No Longer Adds Up," The Post and Courier (Feb 1, 2008)

Stratton Lawrence, "County Poised for 20 More Years of Burning Garbage," Charleston City Paper (May 14, 2008)

Please consider this issue carefully.  The incinerator has been impacting human health in Charleston County for 20 years now, and it is time for us all to take action to protect the health of our families and our neighbors.

Kristen French, Ph.D.

Community Clean Air Project