Meeting to be held over incinerator

Image by flickr user GeneC55Image by 20080619incinerator.jpg Not Charleston's incinerator, but the facilities help reduce the volume of waste buried and provide a cheap source of energy, but often are a strong source of pollution.

Charleston County will hold a meeting about what to do with the Waste to Energy Facility for Municipal Solid Waste, i.e. incinerator. The county will give a brief presentation about the facility which will then be followed by an opportunity for public comment.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, June 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Gethsemane Community Center (2449 Beacon Street).

Several months ago, it was decided the facility was no longer viable not only for its cost, but because of environmental impact. The facility burns everything that gets throw in the trash, including batteries and light bulbs. While the facility does use charcoal and static-electricity-based filters, some 129 pounds of mercury are put into the environment (enough to beat most of the state's coal-fired power plants) and the plant is potent source of dioxins.

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