"Inventor to hold 'No Holds Barred' public meeting on incinerator"

Nova Scotia inventor John Kearns says he will hold a "no holds barred" public meeting in Brantford in the next few weeks to address his controversial waste incinerator currently sitting idle at the Six Nations landfill site.

Band Council announced last week it has ended all negotiations with Kearns International to purchase his $5 million "waste disintegrator" after recent air quality tests revealed toxic chemicals in the machine's smokestack 2,000 times the acceptable limit set by the Ministry of Environment.

"All of this will be explained by me in my personal appearance at a planned public meeting slated for early next month where each and every member of the public can ask me any questions free of any band council restrictions," said Kearns in an e-mail to The Turtle Island News. "It will be a "No Holds Barred" question period; clients; believers and protesters alike."

Kearns has hinted toward potential court action between his company and Six Nations Elected Council for what he claims is a "breach of contract" on the part of council.

His allegations have not been tested in court.

In a brief statement sent out last week, band council confirmed it had ended all negotiations with Kearns to purchase the machine.

"Council began discussion with Kearns International in June of 2012 in an effort to use the company's waste disintegration technology to divert waste from the over capacity landfill in Six Nations. Six Nations Elected Council has given Kearns International written notice of termination of its contract with Kearns International."

Band Council purchased the 20-year-old prototype from Kearns over a year ago for $500,000. Other costs related to employment and testing of the machine's emissions have brought the total spent on the machine to roughly $805,000.

Council was slated to purchase a permanent machine if last year's pilot phase proved the machine could eliminate household waste as Kearns had promised.

Council last year said that Kearns was supposed to prove his machine could run continuously for 30 days before it would agree to purchase the machine.

Kearns told the Turtle Island News last year that the $500,000 was meant to be a down payment on a permanent machine if he proved it would work as promised in a contract signed between Kearns and band council.

That contract has not been made public.

The machine, which Kearns calls a "disintegrator" ran intermittently for 28 days over a period of several months early last year before community members shut the machine down in late May 2014 demanding council conduct air quality tests on the unit first.

Six Nations Band Councillor Helen Miller says she was not in favour of ending negotiations.

"My reason for voting against the decision to abandon the...project is because of the garbage crisis our community is facing and because of the possible loss of money put into the project plus possible legal to the community," she said. "I can't say much because of possible legal action by KI (Kearns International)."

Miller says there isn't much time left to come up with a solution to the overflowing dump site.

"There is an immediate resolution needed for our community's garbage. We don't have time to wait for a large percentage of our community to recycle. That should've been started 10 years ago when we knew the dump was fast exceeding its 40-year prediction. Even though the environment office tried to start a major recycling promotion back then, neither council, nor the community paid any attention."

She said the only immediate option left is to make another landfill site.

"I'm afraid the only immediate solution at present is cutting down some more trees and digging another hole. We also need to do something about those blue bins that businesses and residents use because we don't know what's being put in those bins and dumped in our dump. I also think we should be charging this company to use our dump. We don't know if these trucks are bringing garbage from off territory."

Miller says band council has not discussed what it plans to do with the incinerator or overflowing landfill.

"At present, council hasn't discussed the garbage issue or proposed any solutions," said Miller.

She said one solution - trucking Six Nations' garbage off the territory - is not something she supports.

"I do not support trucking our garbage off site. With all the stuff people put in our dump, I don't see any landfill site wanting to take our garbage. So to me, that's not even an option. Plus, we'd have to charge people for their garbage and if we can't get people to recycle they're sure as not going to want to pay. So many would start burning garbage in their backyards or dumping in the bushes like before."

The cancellation of negotiations with Kearns came just days before hazardous waste materials caught fire and caused numerous explosions in the landfill's recycling area.

Kearns plans to hold a public meeting at Laurier Brantford's Odeon Building on Market Street because he says he was "banned" from Six Nations.

"Considering that I have been banned from the community (because they cannot secure my safety) I will be returning to Brantford where I have arranged a public meeting at the end of May."

Kearns claims the contract signed with band council states the demo unit at the landfill was not to be tested. "Firstly, it is my opinion the band council has either not read the original agreement or, they are receiving poor advice on what it contains and/or what action to take," said Kearns. "As I have always vigorously protested, their decision to test the loaner machine was improper, as in the agreement of their own writing. It clearly states: "The loaner demo unit shall not be critiqued."

He said he also believes council is in breach of contract by not allowing him to complete the machine "as contracted and accepted by the chief and council on April 30, 2014."

The unit is still sitting idle at the landfill which Kearns said is costing council every day.

"There is an ongoing 'standby fee' accruing every day until they officially cancel the order in writing through my solicitors there in Ontario. They have received the options I gave to them which include the said cancellation, or getting back on track allowing us to complete our contract with them.

"On the other hand, should they decide to cancel, then they must negotiate a settlement and I'll go away. If they refuse the latter then legal action from their side would most certainly result in a multi-million dollar lawsuit, that will be a function of their own misadventure."

Kearns still maintains his machine is an innovative technology that would have solved Six Nations' on-going waste crisis.

"It is worth repeating, the disintegrator, when operating at the landfill (last year) successfully closed out use of the said dump, as every bag of garbage and every other item, presented for disposal was consumed by the system for a period of no less than 68 days. Nowhere in the world has any such machine effectively achieved that.