Stop the Plasma Incinerator in Disguise!

Contact the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors:

Ask them to stop the incinerator in disguise!

Call and Email the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors (831) 454-2200

District 1 Supervisor Jan Beautz: bds010@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

District 2 Supervisor Ellen Pirie: ellen.pirie@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

District 3 Supervisor Neil Coonerty: bds031@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

District 4 Supervisor Tony Campos: bds045@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

District 5 Supervisor Mark Stone: mark.stone@co.santa-cruz.ca.us

For more information, contact:

Protect the Air & Health of Santa Cruz & Watsonville Residents!

Stop Dumping on Watsonville!

Here are the facts:

• A company called “adaptiveARC” wants to site an “arc-plasma gasification” facility at the Buena Vista Landfill in Watsonville to treat municipal solid waste (garbage) and sewage sludge.
  
• The proposed plasma arc facility would be close to the Pajaro Valley High School and a large migrant farmworker labor camp in Watsonville that houses hundreds of people
  
• The plasma technology would heat the garbage and sludge, creating a “syngas” that would then be combusted – incinerated – in an internal combustion engine. We believe that toxics and other pollutants would be emitted into the air. The burning of the syngas is why we call this technology an incinerator in disguise.
  
• Contrary to the claims of the company and the Santa Cruz County Public Works department, the technology is not “closed loop” because the syngas is vented directly to an internal combustion engine and burned, emitting some pollutants into the air.
  
• County and company officials hope to fast track approval of the project without an Environmental Impact Report by claiming that this is just a small demonstration project, undermining the public’s right to know all possible risks.
  
• The company states on their website that the third phase of the project would be for a permanent and larger facility at the proposed “Eco-Park” next to the landfill.
  
• The company website says the permanent facility would have three plasma reactors with two gen-sets, treating up to 400 tons of waste per day, much more than double the amount of waste that the project would start with. They want to start with one plasma arc “reactor” and one internal combustion engine (“gen-set”) burning the “syngas.”
  
• The company website states that “This will allow the County to accept waste from surrounding areas that are suffering from shortage of landfill space.”