Number: 1991-10
WHEREAS, reauthorization of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is currently pending before Congress; and
WHEREAS, there are growing constraints on landfill capacity and the nation is turning to incineration as a convenient alternative to handle disposal of solid and hazardous waste; and
WHEREAS, this nation has failed to mandate and implement policies which address generation of waste; and
WHEREAS, sufficient monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for incinerators to ensure public health protection are not in place; and
WHEREAS, in 1988, 180 million tons, or 4.0 pounds per person per day of municipal solid waste were generated, and unless serious waste reduction is implemented annual waste generation is anticipated to swell to 216 million tons by the end of the century; and
WHEREAS, in 1988, 25 million tons or 14 percent of municipal solid waste was incinerated, and, unless serious waste reduction is implemented, 55 million tons of waste is anticipated to be incinerated by the end of the century; and
WHEREAS, municipal waste includes items containing toxic chemicals and precursors to toxic combustion products, such as batteries, paints, pesticides and plastics; and
WHEREAS, in 1988, more than 3.6 billion pounds of hazardous waste were burned in industrial burners, furnaces and incinerators; and
WHEREAS, incineration of solid and hazardous waste items may emit persistent and bioaccumulative toxic chemicals, such as halogenated dibenzofurans and dioxins, mercury and lead; and
WHEREAS, incinerator ash can contain toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and mercury, and incinerator ash disposal can threaten human health and the environment through exposure to fugitive dusts and contaminated groundwater; and
WHEREAS, incinerator ash is being used as a material for the construction industry;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 21-24, 1991, in Memphis, Tennessee, calls upon Congress and the President to mandate an aggressive national program to reduce the volume, weight and toxic content of industrial, consumer and commercial waste primarily through source reduction and the development of safe, reusable products; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress and the President should institute a moratorium on the construction, whether planned or proposed, and expansion of hazardous and municipal incinerators through reauthorization of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act until this national program is implemented; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress seek to eliminate chemicals, processes and products that contribute to the toxicity of incinerator gases, fumes and ashes and regulate fly and bottom ash from existing incinerators as hazardous waste, and ban their use as a construction material.