On Nov. 18, the Philadelphia City Council Environment Committee, chaired by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier with Councilmember Cindy Bass serving as vice chair, will vote on a contract to spend up to seven more years incinerating Philadelphia trash at the Reworld plant in Chester — a working-class city that has fought against this pollution since the incinerator opened in 1991.

The Reworld plant is the largest trash incinerator in the U.S. and one of the largest contributors to air pollution in our region. It is an old plant with outdated environmental controls that has been cited for hundreds of violations. The childhood asthma rate in Chester is four times the national average.

Any basic consideration of ethical principles should reject this. Multiple religious traditions hold some version of the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). More pointedly, from a Christian tradition which takes seriously Jesus’ injunction that, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these siblings of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40), we might ask: would Council willingly pipe toxic ash into Jesus’ lungs?

Philadelphia landfills about two-thirds of its trash. If the contract fails, the city will need to modify landfill contracts to add what it currently incinerates in Chester. While landfilling is not optimal, a Delaware County study found that burning trash and landfilling the leftover ash is significantly worse for human health and the environment.

Mayor Cherelle Parker is pushing to create a commission to spend several years developing a city waste management/reduction plan. But we have an opportunity to stop incineration now while planning better solutions for the future.

I urge concerned Philadelphians to contact Councilmembers Gauthier and Bass. Continued pollution of Chester’s air is unacceptable.

Rev. Kipp Gilmore-Clough

Chestnut Hill United Church