A Case of Success: Pusztazámor

The information provided had been very one-sided at first, but local residents started to get organised, founded the Society for a Healthy Zámor, and changed the direction of the events in a very short time. They published various information booklets and delivered them to each and every household, to remove the mystery surrounding what they would vote for on the 4th of March. It was necessary because the information leaflet published by the local government was not entirely clear. The mayor, Benedek Pátrovics published an article in the local newspaper's (Zámor News) special issue in February. Its title was "The Proposed Sewage Sludge Incinerator Centre" and he said the following: "Since the regime change, the story of Pusztazámor is a story of success. In order to continue it, our village need your wise and brave decision again." What he called "a story of success" was a landfill built in 1997 that mainly deals with the municipal waste of Budapest. The official information leaflet was ambiguous: it did not mention the word "incinerator", but the sewage sludge factory in Bad Vöslau used as reference destroys sewage sludge not only by drying but also by incineration in large amounts. Pusztazámor was to deal with the municipal sewage sludge of Budapest and Pest county, transported there by trucks.

The guidance given by the local government contradicted the information of the NGOs in many points. To make the situation clear, a local community forum was held before the referendum, where the public could decide who was right. The school building was packed full, and it became obvious for everybody, how the residents would vote. HuMuSz was also present, and before the event, we helped the residents' work both with our contacts with the press and professional material. One of the residents, who is an Associate Professor of the Technical University of Budapest, had secretly visited the Austrian reference factory, where he had made video records; these records were presented at the discussion. It became obvious that the factory and the technology are far away from being as perfect as the investigator had claimed. The increase in traffic from the trucks, the fate of the produced ash and the emission of air-borne pollutants was also talked about. Since the factory would have the ability to destroy industrial sewage sludge as well, this possibility could not be excluded. Air pollution concerned not only Pusztazámor, but also Tárnok, the neighbouring village, whose local authorities issued a resolution that they did not support the proposed incinerator.

On the following weekend, the 4th of March referendum brought complete victory to the opposition. 65 % of the local population participated, and 88 % of them voted against the incinerator. This is a huge success, since it is usually very difficult to encourage residents to vote about environmental matters in local referenda. The biggest challenge is to overcome indifference and apathy. The people of Pusztazámor were able do it in a month. Their success brought the village unexpected fame: they got letters of congratulation from Ireland, Macedonia, and even from the Philippine Islands. But the most important email arrived from Szentendre, another small town in the county: "You helped me regain faith in the possibility that small communities can take their fate into their own hands."

The end of the story has one more aspect worth mentioning: Utilis Ltd., the originator of the plan sued three members of the Society for a Healthy Zámor for damage to reputation, but later they repealed the charge.

Translated by Ilona F. Birkus
Proof-reading: Bev Lovatt