Thorold Incinerator Plan Dropped

A proposal for an incinerator that would burn garbage to create electricity has officially gone up in smoke.

Thorold council had already rescinded its support for the project. Recently, Niagara Region’s public works committee said it’s not behind it either.

Last year, Niagara’s waste management steering committee began investigating the feasibility of a proposal for a $180-million energy-from-waste plant in Thorold, which would sell hydro power to the province’s energy grid. The proposal, however, met with considerable grass-roots opposition in Thorold.

The idea effectively died at the end of September when the minister of energy announced that the province was suspending the Energy from Waste Standard Offer Program because the province won’t need any new generation capacity to meet demand over the next decade.

When the proposal was announced, the Thorold plant was touted as the first private sector energy-from-waste facility in Canada – one that would exceed the strictest emissions standards in the world.

Opponents countered by saying all incineration technologies produce toxic, airborne emissions. Particles that are too small to be trapped by filters are dumped back into the ecosystem.

The region never endorsed the plant.

Source: St. Catharines Standard