British Olympic sailor and coach, Laura Baldwin, who lives with her young son on the hill right above the proposed site for a waste incinerator at Portland Port is organising the march.

The protest will start at 10am with some short speeches on the green beside Victoria Square roundabout before a march to the Portland Port entrance and back to the green by 11am for a community conversation about the vision for the future.

Laura said: “Everyone should be outraged by this proposal, not just those living close enough to inhale the toxic emissions. The carbon emissions that would spew into our atmosphere each year would require more than a million trees to live for 100 years to offset the damage caused to our climate. Carbon offsetting should be banned as we are in a climate emergency right now, we don’t have time to wait for trees to grow to offset yet more emissions.

“I care about the air my child breathes. Incinerator filters cannot trap all the harmful particulates so they poison the air we breathe and the land we use to grow food. I’ve put a huge amount of effort into establishing a community allotment at The Grove and that would have to be closed down if this incinerator goes ahead.

“Ninety per cent of the waste burnt could be avoided, reused or recycled. The solution is to adopt a circular economy where there is no waste. Everything manufactured should be recyclable, reusable or compostable. And turn to renewables for energy provision such as wind, tide and solar.

“The latest United Nations IPCC (Inter-governmental panel on climate change) made up of two-hundred-and-thirty four of the world’s leading climate scientists from sixty-six countries and passed by every government in the world, is a Code Red warning for humanity.

“We are already well past safe levels of atmospheric CO2 and every tonne emitted will make the climate crisis worse. This incinerator will pump approximately 202,000 tonnes per year into the atmosphere, enough to melt 606,000m2 of Arctic Sea Ice. Areas of Portland and Weymouth are at risk from sea level rise.

“We have been campaigning for nearly two years against this application for a monster waste burner. We have signed petitions, submitted objections, written letters, been on a march, attended protests, put up banners, funded costly legal advice and yet Powerfuel and Portland Port are still trying to push this toxic project through.

“Say NO to our air being polluted. Say NO to our resources being destroyed. Say NO to contributing to climate catastrophe.”

Create your own placards and or banners if you wish to communicate your messages to Powerfuel, Portland Port and Dorset Council who will meet to decide this application on 22 November.

Park at the Masonic Car Park or take the bus to Victoria Square, Portland. Frontline coffee shop is next to the green.

Event link on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/1tVyXdLq7 

Further questions or offers of assistance email: portland4theplanet@gmail.com