What to do with waste

If there is one thing the world citizens have in abundance, it is waste. So, why not turn it into energy like so many are doing?

European countries have embraced Waste to Energy (WTE) as a way to reduce landfill growth as well as dependence on imported fuels. Today, about 400 WTE facilities are operating in Europe, using municipal solid waste as their primary fuel source. In Denmark alone, 29 WTE plants are currently in operation with 10 more on the way. In Sweden, the city of Kristianstad has essentially weaned itself off of fossil fuels in just ten years by replacing these energy sources with the city’s own waste.

If deployed across a nation like US, WTE facilities could reduce the volume of the more than 250 million tons (PDF) of material being thrown away each year by up to 90 percent. If burned properly, the remaining 10 percent would be mostly inert ash. With proper filtering systems in place, WTE facilities can meet and even exceed federal air emissions standards.

Yet, in the US WTE is being adopted in some regions while in many places it faces flak from environmentalists. Why? The problem is with the manual sorting and filtering required. The technology is safe – IF you can separate out hazardous materials (like batteries) in the incoming fuel (trash).

But like in any technology, there are trade-offs between cost and environmental costs. It would be foolish to look for something which does not have any negative fall-out. This is where we need to balance the positives against the negatives. With so much waste generated, time may not be far off when the waste starts spilling into our lives. More so when the use and throw culture seems to be spreading.