Cities today are generating colossal amounts of garbage. What is to be done with this? As opinions differ, there are examples plenty of turning this stench into wealth.
In New Jersey for instance, there are 21 landfills that generate electricty to power thousands of homes. By 2020, the city authorities plan to generate 30 percent of its power from landfill methane. Methane gas is produced by microorganisms that feed on organic matter in trash.
Proposals are in the offing to combine this energy with wind and solar for firm power. "We see landfills as potential New Age energy plants, because you can combine all three and create a steady source of power - and not everybody wants a windmill in their back yard," said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club.
In the US, on the whole there are over 400 landfills generating electricity. For more, check out http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20081027_N_J__now_turning_its_garbage_into_energy.html
Any reason why we cannot do the same?
So, what say we send our legislators on a trip to NJ? So they can check out and learn something useful for a change!
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5 comments:
Power generation through garbage is not a good option .The amount of energy which is consumed in transportation of garbage to the landfill or plant site is more than the energy generated.Besides it requires huge land.
For India,the best option is setting up garbage processing centres in each ward,separating the in recyclables,furmentables,combustibles and inerts.This will help in producing manure ,pellets etc while reducing the need for disposal to a bare minimum.I have done a study for Jabalpur Municipal Corporation. But the lobby of the contractors who benefit from lifting of garbage is very strong and they did not allow this project.Same is the story every where.
Once the logistics are worked out for the transporatation of the garbage to the landfills and the necessary wheels set in motion possibly with the participation of corporate sectors, this can be an ideal solution to generate electricity considering the enormous amount of garbage that is left untreated in the cities and small towns.
persimDear Roopa,
I repeat,generating energy from garbage is a 'negative energy' exercise and requires huge land besides creating pollution in surrounding areas. Which is cheaper alternative - transport huge quantity of garbage to landfill site or treat it as resource at the wrong plac and set up processing centtres? Which alternative will create more wealth and employment ?
As it goes that there are no single solutions for a challenge, the Waste management also need to be looked at from the same angle. In urban areas especially metros, I am more inclined to believe that we have good technologies and proven process (operational for few years) that can generate multi outputs ( Power, Methane and Manure) all of which will generate revenue and also help reduce GHG emissions. However each opprtunity need to be weighed thouroughly against benefits and costs associated with it. I have seen certain cities where waste volumes are very high,the Municipalities have distributed seperate containers for platic and non plastic waste which reduces the process cycle time and enhance efficiciencies.
Somebody had rightly said thinking of generating electrcity from municipal solid waste is 'solid waste' I will go with opinion of Mr Sood
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