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Today I attended the @camdencountynj Freeholders meeting where a coalition of city and suburban residents expressed concerns about the Camden County microgrid plan to use $29 million in tax dollars to support the Covanta trash incinerator/1 https://twitter.com/cmdforcleanair/status/1296508626492968966
This microgrid would connect not to renewable energy but to an incinerator, and would benefit private corporations. The main corporate interest benefitting would be Covanta itself, whose incinerators were named as the worst polluting in the US, according to WHYY/ 2
County officials have been unclear as to what other corporate entities would benefit but those likely include Holtec, a company currently under criminal investigation. Holtec received a $250 million tax break. George Norcross is on the board/4
Holtec/Norcross/EDA/5 https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2020/06/24/holtec-under-criminal-investigation-eda-says-in-since-redacted-court-filing-1294345
The American Lung Association has given Camden County an “F” for air quality. Covanta is a main contributor to our air pollution. Incinerators produce more methane than landfills. Burning trash releases dioxin, mercury n lead. This plan is bad for the planet n public health/6
@camdencountynj can do a lot better than funnel tax dollars into a project that will prop up an aging incinerator that is approaching the end of its life expectancy. We should be working to reduce waste and create more healthy communities here in South Jersey/7
We should demonstrate our commitment to the values of the Black Lives Matter movement by opposing dirty incinerators in low income communities and communities of color. The BLM slogan “I can’t breathe!” applies to this issue. This is a matter of environmental justice/8
Environmental racism in SJ needs to end/9 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/magazine/pollution-philadelphia-black-americans.amp.html
Everytime I go walking in a Camden County park, I see “stronger together” signs. That’s true for the city and burb activists across the county working on this issue together. Bc air pollution doesn’t stop at individual municipal borders. Bc environmental justice cannot wait.
