A publication of Work On Waste USA, Inc., 82 Judson, Canton, NY 13617 315-379-9200 AUGUST 1995

1987: Ogden Martin Systems acquired the rights to market the “Martin” incinerator technology in Canada. (See below, “A little background on Ogden Martin.”)

July 1990: Ogden Martin’s proposal to build a 3,000 tpd incinerator in the city of Orillia (pop. approx. 24,000) was defeated due to intense citizen opposition. Ogden’s plan was to railroad municipal solid waste from Toronto to Orillia. This was one-of-three 3,000 tpd incinerators Ogden wanted to build to burn Toronto’s waste. (see WN # 116). Harry Olivier was Ogden’s key man in this proposal. Olivier is the Vice President of business development for Ogden Martin Ltd., located in Mississauga, Ontario.

Sept. 1990: The New Democratic Party was elected on Sept. 6, 1990. The NDP campaigned on a strong environmental agenda, with opposition to incineration a long-standing policy of the party.

April 1991: Ruth Grier, the Ontario Minister of the Environment, announced a ban on the building of municipal solid waste incinerators. Grier stated, “The people of Ontario need solutions, not illusions.“ (see WN#146).

July 1992: Mayor Bob Johnson of the Township of Georgina, in the regional municipality of York, initiated a lawsuit against the Attorney General of Ontario. Johnson claimed that Ontario’s incinerator ban was illegal. According to Ogden Martin’s lawyer (Ian Blue, Q.C. of the Toronto law firm, Cassels, Brock & Blackwell) only an individual can bring a law suit against the government, and because of that, Ogden Martin was giving technical assistance to Mayor Johnson. Ian Blue also represented Mayor Johnson in the suit. (see WN# 230).

July 1992: An Ogden Martin consultant, John Milnes, proposed a $300 million MSW incinerator for the small city of Cornwall in Ontario (pop., 48,000). The Cornwall City Council decided not to pursue it, in part because of the provincial ban. Milnes was the founder of the Cornwall Environment Resource Centre and was considered the area’s ‘environmentalist.’

According to a July 22, 1992, Cornwall newspaper account: “Milnes said the Cornwall Environment Resource Centre has begun circulating a petition across the province asking Grier not to impose a ban on waste-to-energy processing.” (Freeholder, “Incineration way to go, chamber told.”) Milnes distributed copies of the video* that was made to attack the credibility of Paul Connett (see WN# 189) in Ontario. (In a July 1992 interview, Milnes told Waste Not that he began working as a consultant for Ogden Martin in February 1992.) According to a 1994 letter Milnes wrote to The Examiner (Peterborough): “I graduated as an environmental scientist from a British University in the 60s - before the advent of environmental emotionalism...I am an environmental consultant strictly engaged in municipal solid waste technologies and practices with offices in both Quebec and Ontario...I am an unpaid co-ordinator for the Ontario Coalition for Integrated Waste Management based in Northumberland County.” In his incineration promotion activites he has signed at least one letter ‘John Milnes, Ph.D.’ even though he has never been able to prove that he has a doctorate in anything.

Sept. 1992: Ontario enacted into law regulations that ban the building of MSW incinerators. (see WN#206)

March 1993: Ogden Martin was involved in a seminar in Toronto titled “Incineration or Landfill?” The seminar was moderated by Ogden’s lawyer, Ian Blue. (see WN #230)

Oct . 1994: John Milnes was involved with a MSW incinerator proposal for Hope Township (approx. 4,000 people), near Port Hope in Northumberland County. A 3,000 tpd msw incinerator was proposed at the site of a mothballed oil-fired generating station, owned by Ontario-Hydro. The site includes 1500-2000 acres, abuts Lake Ontario and has a 600 foot stack. It is surrounded by agricultural farmland. Part of the property is designated as environmentally sensitive. The site is convenient for the major highway (Route 401), rail lines and port facilities. On Oct. 24, 1994, the local citizens’ group, R.A.I.N. (Residents Against Incineration Now) held a public meeting to discuss the issue. On the same evening, the Ontario Coalition for Integrated Waste Management held a meeting nearby, but it was closed to the public.

May 1995: The Recycling Council of Ontario sponsored a 2-day Conference on waste management. One of the presenters was Richard Gilbert, a consultant for Ogden Martin (see below). Gilbert recommended the construction of two 1,200 tpd incinerators and the expansion of the Brampton, Ontario, MSW incinerator, from 400 tpd to 800 tpd, to handle Toronto’s waste. The Conference sponsored three tours to: the 400 tpd MSW “Peel Resource Recovery Incinerator’ in Brampton; the 610 tpd MSW ‘SWARU’ incinerator in Hamilton; and the St. Lawrence cement plant in Mississauga which burns waste oils. (St. Lawrence cement are in the process of requesting permission to burn tires.)

June 8, 1995: The Progressive Conservative (P.C.) party was elected into office. The P.C. and the Liberal party had both stated during their campaigns that they would lift the ban on incineration.

June 1995: Ogden funded the report, “An Incineration-Based Waste Management System for the Greater Toronto Area. A Preliminary Proposal by Richard Gilbert and Ray Bremner.” (see Part I). Gilbert was a member of the City of Toronto and Metropolitan Toronto Councils from 1976-

1991. Bremner was Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Toronto from 1963-1990.

July 31, 1995: The Progressive Conservative party proposes to lift the ban on incineration and announced a 45-day comment period. The deadline for written comments on this proposal is September 14.

We can’t do justice, in this short chlonology, to the many innovative waste reduction, reuse, recycling & compost projects instigated by a number of communities and corporations in Ontario as a result of the ban on incineration. It is these kinds of projects which have brought Ontario’s name to the forefront in waste management circles. With a return to incineration, however, Ontario turns its back on leadership and will become just another corporate satellite of Ogden.

The American license for the Martin technology was originally held by Signal Environmental Systems, which later became Wheelabrator. WMX (formerly Waste Management, Inc.) bought out Wheelabrator. In 1983 the Federal Trade Commission forced Signal to sell one of the two incinerator technology licenses it had. At that time Signal held the American licences for both the Von Roll and Martin incinerator technologies. Signal decided to sell the Martin technology to Ogden Corp. and keep the license for the Swiss incinerator technology, Von Roll, which is now held by WMX. According to Ogden’s 1988 annual report to the Securities & Exchange Commission: “Ogden Martin Systems (OMS) entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Martin GmbH fur Umwelt-und-Energietechnik (‘Martin’) in Munich, West Germany during April 1983, whereby OMS acquired the rights to the Martin technology for the mass-burn resource recovery technology on an exclusive basis in the United States, Mexico and certain Caribbean countries. In 1987, OMS also acquired the rights to market the Martin technology in Canada. The Cooperation Agreement is presently in effect until 2004 and is terminable by either party by notice to the other, effective fifteen years after such notice is given. In addition, the Cooperation Agreement provides, among other things, that it may be terminated by Martin on ninety (90) days notice if there is a ‘change of control’ of OMS or any direct or indirect parent of OMS, including Ogden, which has not been approved in advance by the incumbent board of the relevant company. A ‘change in control’...gives OMS certain rights of first refusal in connection with any possible disposition of Martin.”

* Despite Ogden Martin’s frontmen’s willingness to attack Paul Connett’s credibility with the video tape, the confidence in these attacks appears to evaporate when they are challenged to debate the incineration issue in public. Milnes, Olivier and Bremner have been challenged to debate Paul Connett and all have managed to avoid doing so.

For more information contact: Colleen Cooney, Don’t Burn Ontario Alliance, RR # 1, Coldwater, Ontario LO5 1EO, Canada. Tel & Fax: 705-686-7457.

Editors: Ellen & Paul Connett, 82 Judson Street, Canton, New York 13617. Tel: 315-379-9200. Fax: 315-379-0448.