I shall reply briefly to the words of Environment Member José Ignacio Asensio and General Member Markel Olano at the inauguration of the toxic incinerator.

They told us that five years ago the PNV and the PSE found him all standing on the way to government, but they did not tell us that the Basque Government caused him to get paralyzed because he did not give him the permission needed by the CMT. This has been a huge cost, as from 2016 to February 2020 the authorities of the Member State have spent EUR 47,600,000 on transporting waste to other territories. Furthermore, as the waste continues to be transported abroad, another lie of Asensio has become evident, as he previously said that Gipuzkoa was an autonomous waste territory in 2020. In particular, between 20 March and 20 July, 5867 tonnes of waste have been transported from Gipuzkoa to the Jata landfill in Bizkaia. Even worse: despite the fact that the incinerator is in place and the agreement signed on 15 December by the Gipuzkoa Waste Consortium (GHK), next year – at least – we will continue to transfer the waste to Bizkaia.

They have later referred to the modernity of the incinerator, which, being new in Zubieta, is one of the most advanced systems in Europe, is, moreover, an example among the incinerators. But there are things that we have not been told, for example, that incinerators are being paralyzed for having an inadequate solution in many parts of the world: In Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Italy 12, and in some places in Spain (in Navarre, or in Valencia, and in Madrid, Valdemingomez will be closed in 2025).

On the subject of modernity, it should be said that the pollution generated by the Zubieta incinerator during the test period was above the level promised, had problems with the control of particles and nitrogen oxide. Furthermore, as the most polluting substances are not continuously measured, the surrounding land and food are continually contaminated.

At another time, both Olano and Asensio were proud of the recycling rate achieved in Gipuzkoa. This is amazing, because in municipalities governed by the PNV and the PSE there are the lowest recycling rates on average.

For its part, the Environment Deputy, Mr Asensio, pointed out that waste was transformed into waste in landfills, while all is now being used through CMT (8%) and recovery (92%). At this point it should be noted that the energy efficiency obtained when using the combustion of materials to produce electricity is very low, approximately 30%. With prevention, reuse and recycling, energy efficiency is much higher. According to data from the anti-incineration movement, 85% of waste is recyclable or reusable!

This last idea can be associated with the circular economy, because if we burn matter, materials that are scarce are exhausted, so the incinerator and the circular economy are opposite concepts. The symbol of this disaster is Denmark, where most of the waste production for combustion (80%) is huge, 781kg per person per year. In addition, if you want to boost a real circular economy, you have to do research in product design, among many other things, to make all objects reusable or recyclable. In addition, it should be remembered that the construction of the incinerator has prevented the creation of many sites, between 7 and 39 times less, and furthermore the receipt of municipalities burning waste is increased by 30%.

Along with the above idea, according to Olano and Asensio, the incinerator is valid in the fight against climate change. However, if the data are consulted, we can see that this is not the case, since for every tonne of burned waste another tonne of C02 is poured into the air. According to the experts, in order to reduce this high amount, as we have done before with energy efficiency, we must follow the hierarchy established by Europe.

At another time Asensio said that Gurasos has lost all the judgments, and besides that this is not true, we must remind Asensio that politicians choose the judges, because if not, it would be impossible to understand many cases of corruption that have not been well judged: By Miguel, Epsilon, Purines Karrantza... or the terrible cases of Zaldibar and Cabas.

I do not want to end without saying that this issue will definitely end when things are done right. For me, at least, for this and taking into account the structures already built, Gurasos’s plans and Toxiko Watch’s contributions must be taken into account.