If Sooke is going to consider having a waste gasification project, I hope council is planning on having some public consultation due to the many serious concerns that these systems raise.
Examples are: release of toxins such as dioxins into the air; what to do with the ash, which has concentrations of heavy metals and other pollutants in it without creating a hazard in our community or another community; gasification is a net producer of greenhouse gases. From what I understand these installations need to be built according to very rigorous standards and be unceasingly operated in a diligent manner lest these pollution concerns be exacerbated.
So, I guess another concern is what is the projected cost of such a project and who will be responsible for making sure it is running properly at all times?
Gasification plants require a guaranteed steady stream of garbage which could mean other communities will be trucking their garbage to Sooke and it would also discourage us from diverting our garbage and reducing, reusing and recycling.
If the district is prepared to transfer or purchase a piece of property for this venture, perhaps a more cost-effective idea would be to create a recycle/compost-creating/re-use store/diverting garbage into commodities centre instead.
Jo Phillips. Sooke