{"id":17345,"date":"2020-07-06T09:38:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T13:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/articles\/zero-waste-activist-paul-connett-on-the-hudson-falls-ny-garbage-incinerator\/"},"modified":"2024-05-01T18:25:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T18:25:27","slug":"paul-connett-ny-garbage-incinerator","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/es\/article\/composting-for-community\/paul-connett-ny-garbage-incinerator","title":{"rendered":"Zero Waste Activist Paul Connett on the Hudson Falls, NY, Garbage Incinerator"},"template":"","class_list":["post-17345","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_type-article","initiatives-composting-for-community","topics-incineration","topics-zero-waste","authors-neil-seldman"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":7275,"background_color":"","article_type":[134],"initiative":15,"display_event_fields":false,"start_date":null,"end_date":null,"start_time":null,"end_time":null,"time_zone":"America\/New_York","virtual_event":false,"location":"","topics":[87,121],"impact_areas":false,"abstract":"

Paul Connett delivered a tour de force on waste incineration, recycling and sustainability to the people of Warren and Washington Counties, NY, the site of an egregiously polluting garbage incinerator. … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","authors_tax":[605]},"sidebar":{"title":"\u00cdndice"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

<\/div>

Paul Connett delivered a tour de force on waste incineration, recycling and sustainability to the people of Warren and Washington Counties, NY, the site of an egregiously polluting garbage incinerator. Research by the Energy Justice Network (EJN) revealed that the facility in Hudson Falls burns 500 tons per day, yet it emits as much pollution as all the other incinerators in New York State put together, which burn thousands of tons per day each.<\/p>\n

The event was sponsored by Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls, CCAN, based in Glens Falls and chaired by long time Hudson Valley environmental activist Tracy Frisch and EJN, based in Washington, DC and Philadelphia directed by Mike Ewall. Connett is a veteran of the original effort to stop the incinerator from being built in 1986.<\/p>\n

After decades of successfully stopping garbage incinerators from being built, activists are now setting their sites on closing existing, out of date, expensive and polluting facilities.<\/p>\n

Any presentation by Connett, a retired professor of chemistry at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY is an opportunity to learn, get motivated and have fun all at the same time. Rick Anthony, chair of the Zero Waste International Alliance, has dubbed Paul a Super Star of Zero Waste. He is an iconic speaker who describes complex issues of chemical pollution and its impacts on nature and humans, has total command of the history of how the garbage mess came about, with potent examples and experiences that we all can relate to and empathize with. He is an indefatigable traveler to 69 countries on every continent and 49 of our 50 states, accumulating knowledge about alternatives to incineration and the people who are creating \u2018pieces of zero\u2019 from all over the world. Unlike other Super Stars Connett does not have hundreds of millions of dollars. In 40 years of effort he has never charged for his time and expertise. Cost of travel, a clean bed, a nice dinner and a glass of (fine) wine and good company is his standard fee. Connett has documented a good deal of his and other anti incineration and Zero Waste campaigners in his 2013 book, Zero Waste: Saving the Planet One Community at a Time<\/em>. He has also produced a documentary video entitled \u201cPieces of Zero\u201d comprised of interviews with activists and practitioners.<\/p>\n

Connett works closely with his wife Ellen Connett. They were a critical component of the anti garbage-burning network that stopped over 300 incinerators from being built through grass roots organizing. Ellen diligently reported the news in her Waste Not Newsletter on each and every on-going battle. Her news clips inspired others, provided contacts and shared strategies to pass on to organizers in newly threaten communities. Waste Not was a \u2018Committee of Correspondence\u2019 long after our Revolutionary Era and long before Internet communications.<\/p>\n

Here is the gist of what Paul said. But you should review the entire presentation and follow up discussion.<\/p>\n