Brampton ACORN takes action on Earth Day to stop the MEGA-Incinerator!

This Earth Day, ACORN members from across Peel Region teamed up to speak to Bramalea residents at Chinguacousy Park about the mega-incinerator coming soon, courtesy of Doug Ford. 

The Emerald Energy from Waste facility wants to expand their existing site fivefold. This means skyrocketing from 182,500 tonnes to over 900,000 tonnes of burning trash right in our backyards every single year. 

Why is this a problem? 

1. POISONS OUR LUNGS: increasing risks of asthma, heart disease, and COPD for families living downwind. 
2. ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM: 80.6% of Brampton’s population identifies as racialized. Big corporations think they can dump their pollution in racialized and working-class neighborhoods.
3. CLIMATE CHAOS: Burning plastic and household waste is a carbon-heavy process. In many cases, it is even dirtier than coal. We need real solutions, not more toxic smoke in the sky.

While Emerald Energy from Waste is a private company, they cannot expand without the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). Under the Ford government, the Province approved the environmental assessments and gave the company the legal “green light” to bypass certain local hurdles, including overriding Public Health Warnings. For example, the Peel Medical Officer of Health issued a report warning that Brampton already has higher-than-average rates of asthma and COPD due to existing pollution.

ACORN members met a lot of very receptive people in the park, many of whom were unaware of the expansion and the Province’s involvement, and eagerly signed our petitions to stop it in its tracks. 

To learn more and get involved, contact [email protected].