Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 12:49:12 -0700
From: Cathy Booler
Subject: TC: toxic waste

===== A message from the 'toxicscaucus' discussion list =====

PUBLICATION The Edmonton Journal
DATE Sat 29 Apr 2000
EDITION FINAL
SECTION/CATEGORY News
PAGE NUMBER A14
BYLINE Charles Rusnell, Journal Staff Writer

HEADLINE: American recycler abandons bid to treat toxic waste in Canada

** An American waste recycling company has abandoned plans to import
** PCB-contaminated waste from overseas American military bases into Canada.

Trans-Cycle Industries created a storm of controversy earlier this month when it tried to bring a shipment of toxic waste from American military bases in Japan into the port of Vancouver. The shipment was bound for treatment at the company's facility in Kirkland Lake, Ont.

The port of Vancouver refused to allow the shipment to be off-loaded after it was found Trans-Cycle did not have a permit from the Ontario Ministry of Environment to import waste from outside Canada.

Trans-Cycle claimed the Ontario environment ministry had given tacit approval but the ministry said Trans-Cycle knew it needed a special permit. In fact, the company had applied for permission but was turned down.

Trans-Cycle appealed to the Ontario Environmental Appeal Board.
The hearing was to start May 8. But the company this week withdrew its appeal, saying it wanted to focus instead on installation of new technology at its Kirkland Lake facility.

Greenpeace Canada said Trans-Cycle backed away because it knew it faced public opposition.

``They knew it would be just too much trouble because of all the groups that had intervenor status at the appeal hearing,'' Miranda Holmes, of Greenpeace Canada in Vancouver, said Friday.

Ontario Environment, Greenpeace, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and two environmental groups from northern Ontario opposed Trans-Cycle's application.

Ontario environment ministry spokesperson John Steele said the ministry had assembled a strong case against the company's application.

``We looked them straight in the eye and they blinked,'' Steele said. ``We had a lot of expert witnesses on our side.''

** The shipment of about 100 tonnes of toxic waste was returned to Yokohama, Japan, earlier this month where it was confronted by about 50 angry demonstrators. As workers started unloading, four Greenpeace members jumped aboard the ship and unfurled a banner reading, ``PCBs are America's trash.''

Japanese officials allowed the shipment to be off-loaded only on the condition that it immediately be shipped to a U.S. military base and that it be out of the country within a month.



SEARCH TERMS IMPORT; CONTAMINATED; SHIPMENT; TOXIC;

INFOMART CUSTOMSEARCH

*** END OF STORY ***

Cathy Booler
Administrative Director
Georgia Strait Alliance
195 Commercial Street
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G5

cathy@georgiastrait.org
gsa@georgiastrait.org
www.georgiastrait.org

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