Dear Source:
It's time we kill two birds with one stone in the USVI. We need another energy source and we need to rid ourselves of high electric costs and these nasty landfills. It's time for the USVI government to invest in an incinerator.
Most publicized concerns from environmentalist about incineration of municipal waste involves the fear that it produces dioxin emissions into the atmosphere. Today, due to advanced designs and stringent government regulations, modern waste-to-energy incinerators emit virtually no dioxins. In fact, the EPA has characterized modern incinerators as producing electricity with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity.
The ash residue remaining after combustion has been shown to be a non-hazardous solid waste than can be safely landfilled or possibly reused. Incineration is popular in countries such as Japan where land is a scarce resourse. Sweden and Denmark have been very successful at waste to energy incineration.
With our constant battles with oil energy from WAPA and the increasing strain of the landfills, it's time to invest in a new kind of power and a new way to clean the islands.
John Wilsbach
St. Croix
Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.
