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Incinerator would bring energy

Nanaimo could become an eco-friendly leader, turning waste that is normally buried into energy.

To the Editor,

Re: Incinerator drama could turn into a tragedy and a farce, Letters, Dec. 3.

Scott Littlejohn’s analogy to a drug deal shows his intention to instill fear.

The jump to a conclusion is wrong on two counts. First, waste-to-energy does not encourage lack of recycling. The two best recyclers in the world, the Netherland and Germany, have both used WTE for a long time. Having Nanaimo say no is not going to teach Vancouver anything; they will simply select a different site.

His second conclusion about Nanaimo being so good at recycling is questionable. Nanaimo waste is shipped off-Island every day.

Nanaimo could become an eco-friendly leader, turning waste that is normally buried into energy, reducing what we are importing, bringing the Island a little closer to energy self-sufficiency.

Nanaimo currently pays the second-highest residential taxes per capita, in part because we have no industrial tax base left. This project has the potential to be the largest project in 50 years and bring high paying jobs.

I applaud council. At least it is willing to listen and learn.

Tim McGrathvia e-mail