Mexico: time to end sacrifice zones

Apaxco, State of Mexico, is a town of no more than 30 thousand inhabitants located about two hours away from the megacity of Mexico City. It is located in the Mezquital Valley, an area that is rich in thermal springs, it houses two watersheds and a huge variety of species of fauna and flora.

But in Apaxco, inserted in the industrial corridor of Apaxco - Tula - Atotonilco, between the states of Mexico and Hidalgo, just a few birds are seen, and the shy vegetation is covered with a gray mantle.

Apaxco and its surrounding municipalities are what academics have described as "sacrifice zones", places where a high concentration of industries has caused such a level of pollution that reversing it seems impossible, and mitigation measures will never be sufficient.

Cement plants, waste co-processing plants, thermoelectric plants, refineries, agro-chemical factories configure the landscape of these territories, where their communities do not bend down and keep demanding justice and clean air for all.

One of the bloodiest struggles in the community in Apaxco started in 2009 when a camp was set up in front of the entry of Ecoltec, a subsidiary of the Holcim-Apasco cement company, in protest of the death of eleven peasants after breathing toxic gases inside a well that they cleaned, presumably contaminated by the company. After two years, the camp, which blocked the entry of trucks and material to be processed and sent to the cement plant, was evicted, without complying with any of the community's requirements.

The support of international civil society

After nine years, the local community continues with the struggle. This year, they hosted the Third International Meeting against Incineration that took place, between the days 24 and 26 of November in Apaxco, with an extensive agenda that included the participation of groups, organisations and networks of Mexico grouped at the Front of Communities Against Incineration (FCCI) , as well as people and global organisations that are part of the Global Alliance for Alternatives to Incineration (GAIA) and Zero Waste Europe . The Meeting allowed for the sharing of experiences, reviewing the current strategies and strengthening the urgent need to promote zero waste plans from the communities to deal with these threats, and concluded with a declaration.

Today, local communities are deeply concerned about the public health threat of waste incineration, specially in cement plants.

"Cement plants have become the spearhead that drives waste incineration" explains Jorge Tadeo Vargas, FCCI, adding that "the landscape of waste incineration in Mexico is frightening, with cement plants incinerating hazardous waste for decades with the complicity of the federal government, which allows and encourages this highly polluting activity, now with proposals for the construction of municipal waste incinerators."

Waste incineration in cement plants increases

Earlier this year, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), granted a permit to the Holcim cement plant located in Apaxco, State of Mexico, to receive and process more than 127,000 tons of hazardous waste each year, to be later incinerated in the cement kilns.

"These practices impact dramatically the health of the population and the environment, as has happened for decades in our community of Montcada," said Jos Luis Conejeros, from the Anti-Incineration Coordination of Catalonia, an organisation that was present at the meeting.

"The community of Apaxco is a benchmark for the serious problems of pollution and at the same time the awareness that must emanate from the same affected communities on the urgency of creating zero waste solutions," added Carlos Samayoa, coordinator of toxic areas for Greenpeace Mexico, who was also present at the Meeting.

For these reasons, the Third International Meeting against Incineration began with a symbolic takeover at the Holcim plant in Apaxco.

During the Gathering, various impacted communities in Mexico from Apaxco, Atotonilco, Yula, Santiago de Anaya, Temascalapa and Puebla, shared their experiences of work, monitoring and resisting waste incineration in cement plants. International organisations from Montcada (Spain) and Barletta (Italy), shared their European experiences against the cement companies, emphasising the need to generate alternatives to the prevailing models of waste disposal.

"Sacrifice Zone", literally

The increase of waste incineration in cement plants in Mexico has negative effects on the health of the population and the environment due to the lack of measures and equipment necessary to prevent the spread of contaminants.

"The problem can be summarized in three aspects: the omission of existing regulations, environmental devastation, which includes the excessive extraction of resources, and direct effects on health", explains Brisa Carrasco, PhD in Geography at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

A study developed by the Master's student Eber Martnez defined the correlation between the presence of cancer in the Mezquital Valley and the pollution of cement industries. The data analysis was combined with a community mapping that gathered the perception of the population around the environmental problems. The results highlight the high morbidity due to cancer in the Apaxco area, especially the incidence in children with leukemia.

The medical specialist Dermatology Refuge Choreo has stated in interviews to the media that "the pollution that is generated will be responsible for a wide variety of cancers to all organs, there is not one that escapes, mainly cancers at the respiratory and haematological level . The most susceptible population are children, pregnant women and the elderly. The average number of cases attended in Apaxco is 15 per year and it is increasing."

Forum Against Veolia in Mxico City

While the media announced in the middle of this year how pollution broke records in Mexico City with the longest environmental contingency since 2000 , a growing number of legislators of the nation have expressed their concern and opposition to the incinerator that Veolia intends to build in the city, for a cost that is around 500 million dollars.

In this context, the forum entitled "Analysis and debate on the construction and operation of a plant to incinerate 4500 tons of waste per day in Mexico City" was organized in the House of Journalists of Mexico City.

A full room, the space was an opportunity to deepen the economic and environmental risks of the construction of an incinerator of such magnitude, and to clarify that the contract is agreed to be carried out for 33 years, which implies 3 years of construction of the plant and 30 of operation of the project, forcing the Metro system to buy energy from this plant for the duration.

In his public statements, Deputy Csar Cravioto, coordinator of the Morena caucus in the Federal District Legislative Assembly (ALDF), pointed out that the process has been so irregular, to the point that not even the Deputies have had access to all the necessary financial information.

Next steps

The high level discussions and response from the general public showed that there is a very strong interest in resolving issues around air pollution and waste management, in Mexico and worldwide. Participants concluded that the next International Gathering Against Incinerators will be celebrated in San Salvador, in El Salvador, hosted by the organisation CESTA .

This article was written thanks to the contribution of Magdalena Donoso, GAIA Latin-America Coordinator.

Full version of this article is posted here .