By AINSLEY THOMSON
Three Greenpeace protesters were arrested after they chained themselves to barrels at the entrance to Auckland International Airport's incinerator yesterday.
The trio were trying to stop trucks carrying waste for incineration entering the site. Before being removed by police, they hung a banner at the entrance reading "Stop
poisoning us. Stop incineration".
Steve Abel, 33, Suzette Jackson and Sarah Duthie, both 28, were charged with trespassing and obstruction. They entered no plea when they appeared at the Manukau District Court.
Greenpeace claims the incinerator is producing poisonous dioxins that cause birth defects, cancer and endometriosis and for which there is no safe emission level.
Greenpeace toxics campaigner Carmen Gravatt said the group had been campaigning about the incinerator for more than a year.
"The Auckland airport incinerator is the largest incinerator in the country and potentially the nation's largest single dioxin source," she said.
Greenpeace wants the company to switch to clean technology, such as steam sterilisation, and is calling on the Government to ban incineration nationally.
"It is unacceptable that both AIAL, a company that prides itself on being a good corporate citizen, and the New Zealand Government, which constantly promotes our green image, both continue to back incineration," Ms Gravatt said.
Auckland Airport operations general manager David Hansen said the company fully complied with requirements the Auckland Regional Council had placed on them.
He said at the last annual meeting there had been an undertaking given to investigate alternative technologies, and this was "progressing" at the moment.
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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