How to start a local campaign

Installation of incinerators involves various stakeholders - the decision-makers and the local community. While the municipalities, hospitals and the pollution control boards decide, communities living near the vicinity of the incinerators and the ones who deal in waste - like rag pickers, and waste recyclers bear the brunt of the decision.

Therefore a campaign should be focused on those immediately concerned with the decision to install an incinerator and those directly affected by this decision. While the focus is local, the campaign will have a more broad-based repercussion. Keeping this in mind, it is therefore necessary to involve higher authorities of the governing bodies that usually have their offices at the respective state capitals.

CAMPAIGN GOALS

The campaign should have a clear goal so that the work is focused and the information that is required and generated is related to the campaign. The goals of the campaign can be both short and long-term.

A campaign can be Preventive, Anti or Remedial.

Preventive - In such a campaign the goal is to pre-empt any plan to install an incinerator, while suggesting alternatives to manage the waste produced.

Anti - Such a campaign usually starts after incinerator proposals have been passed or have already been installed. This is a very tricky situation when viable alternatives will have to be suggested in tandem with demand to shut down the incinerator.

Remedial - A remedial campaign is an attempt to bring to notice the fact that the waste management device that had been installed has failed. This must be accompanied with viable alternatives.

MAJOR STEPS

Identifying your allies

To run successfully, a campaign must have participation from the major players in a community. It is therefore necessary to bring more people/groups into the fold. Some of the people/organizations that should be involved:

· Residents' associations living near the proposed site
· Workers' unions
· Media
· Women's organizations
· Other NGOs working in the fields of urban development, waste, pollution, health, etc.
· Religious associations in the area

"…decision makers should think carefully before authorizing new waste incinerators, since any new plant built now would still be operating 2020, and would stifle development of new forms of waste handling." Ludwig Kraemer, Head, European Union Waste Management Directive, 2000.

As a campaign has various phases, it is necessary that work be defined and delegated. The various tasks will include researching, meeting with officials and other people and groups concerned, meeting the press, generation of funds, creation of information handouts, organizing demonstrations or signature campaigns. Work should be fanned out and those responsible for different sections of the campaign should have regular meetings to ensure that everyone is kept up to date and function in tandem.

Another important ally to a campaign is the elected representative of an area. Communities and campaigners should not shy away from using their elected representatives to demand their rights. With the elected official on your side it will be easier to meet various officials in the government.

However what should be remembered is:

· Do not let the politician make it a political issue to benefit any particular political party
· Do not let the politician co-opt the campaign
· Do not let the politician become the spokesperson for the issue
· If the politician address he conference on the issue, make sure s/he has enough briefing to take the issue to the community.

Information Gathering

Before any campaign is initiated it is essential to find out exactly what is being proposed and the current stage of the proposal. Though not all stages of a proposal are open to public pressure or influences, but it's worth an effort to target around the policy setting stage.

This is the stage when plans for waste disposal strategies are being worked out in the municipalities and more often than not influenced by national waste plan or policy decisions taken at the national level. For instance, in India, the MNES has been promoting energy recovery from municipal and industrial waste. This has influenced the plans of municipalities around the country in how they manage their waste, technology transfers and waste management companies from the western countries.

At this stage, it is necessary to ask the implementing agency the following questions:

1. What is the type of technology to be used?
2. What is the daily waste consumption of the plant?
3. And if it is energy recovery project then how much electricity will be generated?
4. What are the installation cost and the running cost of the plant?
5. What is the percentage of the organic and inorganic content in the city garbage?
6. How will it be ensured that no contaminants (heavy metals, PVC, etc.) enter the process?
7. What kind of pollution control equipment is being fitted?
8. What kind of tests are to be carried out during the operation of the plant and what would be their frequency?
9. What permits has the company taken from the Pollution Control Board?
10. What does the residual char and gas consist of? How will the y be disposed off?
11. What is the track record of the company proposing the new facility and where else has it installed similar plants? Have they ever been prosecuted for breaching environmental licensing conditions, either here or overseas?
12. Where else in the country/world has this technology been used?
13. Will the data on releases into the environment be accessible to the community?

Where to look for information on Installation of Incinerators?

A major problem with getting information about the installation of incinerators or even about the existing ones is that of finding the source of information.

A couple of places to look for information:

· All purchases are made as per tenders that come out in the newspapers. It is therefore a good idea to keep a watch on the tender page of the newspapers.
· Municipalities, hospitals and the local pollution control boards. Regular meetings with concerned officials of theses agencies are an effective way to determine plans to install incinerators.
· Information on existing incinerators can be found in incinerator manufacturer brochures.

How does one locate an incinerator?

Incinerators can be found in most large hospitals. These are usually at the back of the hospital. The incinerator is placed inside a large shed that has an open area to store the waste and the ash. Outside the shed are the fuel tanks and smoke stack.

Municipal waste incinerators can be found close to a municipal dump at the outskirts of a city/town. They would usually be called waste management facility.

The best way to locate an incinerator is to look for the smoke stack.

How to determine the make and manufacturer of the incinerator?

The premises of the incinerator will have a signboard where some information will be given. Also the control box of the incinerator will have details of the incinerator. More information can be got from those working at the incinerator facility and those living close by.

How does one determine the kind of waste that goes into the incinerator?

A lot of waste will be kept close to the incinerator before it is burnt. It is at this place where different types of waste can be identified. Incinerator operators at the facility can also share the information.

What are the other points to look at in an incinerator: ash and smoke?

Incinerator ash will be either found at the side of the incinerator building or behind it. In some cases, it may be dumped in a municipal bin close by (in case of hospitals); ash from a municipal incinerator will be sent to the municipal dump.

The ash should be assessed for the following points:

· Presence of unburnt contaminants
· Heavy metal content in the ash. Scientific analysis of the ash would have to be carried out, costing a few thousand rupees in a research laboratory. Alternatively, science departments of universities and institutes could be requested to conduct a sampling.

Other information

It is very necessary to collect data on scientific studies showing the problems of incineration, the kinds of pollutants and their effects on the human system. It is also necessary to get data on the past cases where incinerators have been shut down and replaced with cleaner alternatives.

What should you do with the information and why?

The information being generated is for one purpose- to show that incineration is not the solution to the waste problem. It pollutes the environment and people are exposed to different pollutants released during the burning of waste.

Thus this information should be disseminated widely in simple language to:

· The press wit a brief backgrounder about the problem of waste management in the town/ city.
· Decision makers with a letter about the adverse impacts of incinerators. The letter should ideally suggest some alternatives.
· Other NGOs for support.

WHOM TO CONTACT:

For municipal Waste incinerators

Municipal Commissioner
Municipal Health Officer
Chairperson of the State Pollution Control Board
Regional Representative of the Central Pollution Control Board
Environment Secretary
Ministry/ Environment Minister (state and center)
Other NGOs
Media/ Newspapers

For medical waste incinerators:

Director and superintendent of the Hospital
Regional Representative of the State Pollution Control Board
Environment Secretary
Environment Minister (state and center)
Other NGOs
Media/ Newspapers

HOLDING WORKSHOPS

Workshops are an effective way to disseminate and share information, build capacity and get people on your side. The workshop can be structured according to the people targeted. Campaigners can hold workshops for other NGOs to share information with them and tell them about the problems of incineration. In this workshop with NGOs, campaign strategies should be discussed along with the possibility of delegation of responsibilities. Small workshops can also be held for officials who are involved in waste management to familiarize them about cleaner waste management systems and the problems associated with incinerators.

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

The press is a very important ally of a campaign and can ensure:

· Proper coverage of the problems of incineration
· To bring it to the notice of the whole community and ensure that waste management becomes a serious issue.

PRESS RELEASES

A press release is a method of sending out information to the media on behalf of your organization or coalition. The information in the press release should always be brief, concise, recent and to the point highlighting the problem. A return address and phone number should be provided at the bottom of the press release. A follow up call should be made after sending the press release to ensure they have received it.

Press Conference

Press conferences are a method to share information with several members of the media at the same time. Although speakers normally speak at the conference to create awareness, one should also prepare an information packet giving details of the findings, the reasons why the information was gathered and the charter demands, to enable the press to take note of the issue. Photographs too can be provided in the information packet.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertising is indeed a very effective way, although expensive, of ensuring that the message reaches a wider audience. Advertising does not only have to be in major national newspapers, they can also be placed in vernacular press.

Sustaining a Campaign

The trickiest part of a campaign is not to let it die midway. There is a need to have sustained pressure on the people who have taken the decision to install an incinerator or who have already set up an incinerator to do away with it and think of alternatives. Also there is need to keep the campaign in public focus. To do this, one should enlist the help of the public and other NGOs to a large extent.

Campaigners can also:

1. Start a signature campaign.
2. Start a door-to-door campaign
3. Request people to write or phone concerned government officials.
4. Form small groups of people who can maintain vigil and protest around incinerators.
5. Take small group of representatives from the community where the incinerator is going to be installed or has already been installed to meet the authorities.
6. Have public debates on the issue.
7. Send out information to people who are most affected.

Putting Out theFlames. ToxicsLink, India,2001