Also of local relevance today is the announcement that Delaware County Council will host an educational session on the future of solid waste handling in the county on September 30th. The session will happen at 6 pm in the county council room in Media. County Council and the Solid Waste Authority will be present and they have invited Covanta to participate – they’ve apparently not invited anyone from the groups seeking to end the incinerator’s contract with the county. Seems a bit one sided there.

As far as transparency goes, this is a great step forward. Its after normal working hours in a place with space that’s relatively easy to get to, the public will be able to ask questions, and the video of the event will be available on the county’s website. All huge improvements, this is good.

But the comments from the County Council members quoted seem disingenuous,

During the public comment section of county council’s meeting Wednesday, Zidek and other council members spoke to the complexity of the situation.

“It’s not as simple as simply snapping our fingers and then we decide not to send trash to Covanta 370,000 tons a year is, I think, what Delaware County sends to Covanta and then Covanta disappears,” he said.

Well no, but deprivatizing the prison also wasn’t a snap of the fingers. Its taken years, but that’s underway. Starting a new health department wasn’t a snap of the fingers, it also took years, but that’s being formed next year. There’s no future that protects county resident’s health and provides justice to the people of Chester that involves continued use of the incinerator. None. County Council needs to stop this dithering and start mapping out the plan for how we get from here to there. Because whatever that involves (and it might involve renewing the current contract for a short time to prepare alternatives), it doesn’t involve Covanta in the long term – it means inviting groups that have a plan that gets from here to there.