Student takes publishers to task over incineration

By Kieran O’Mahony

A 17-YEAR-OLD student from Carrigaline has written to a schoolbook publisher to get them to update their information on incineration.

Catriona Reid, a fifth year student at Coláiste Muire in Crosshaven, wrote to publisher Edco in the hope that they will update the Leaving Cert Home Economics textbook. Catriona believes that it misleads students into thinking that incineration is a viable way to deal with waste.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Catriona explained why she decided to write to the publishers last week, and admitted she hadn’t told her teachers of her intentions.

‘Over the past year, I’ve been involved in the campaign to stop the proposed waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy. At the planned hearing, we heard very detailed accounts into European waster policy and the technical aspects of incineration,’ said Catriona.

‘There is precious little evidence to back up the claim that valuable energy can be recovered from incinerators. 

‘In fact, the EU was recently considering removing “energy recovery in the form of incineration” from the waste hierarchy because of this conflicting evidence.’ 

As a member of the Green Party in Cork, Catriona was their representative at the oral hearing in Ringaskiddy last year and even wrote a book, ‘Our Third Fight’  about her experience attending the hearing on a daily basis. All of the money raised by the sale of her book went  to CHASE (Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment)  to help pay for the costs of the hearing.

Catriona was also awarded the 2016 Cork Environmental Forum Award in the Individual category for the her work representing the Green Party and the community in Ringaskiddy at the oral hearing, despite being just 16.

The harbour community has been resisting the building of an incinerator at Ringaskiddy by Indaver Ireland since 2001. 

Last month, An Bord Pleanála deferred its decision on the third application to build one – for a seventh time. 

The decision is now expected on December 19th.