12-23-2007, 02:38 PM
Questions about the Hilo waste-to-energy (WTE) proposal:
Would WTE prevent trucking from Hilo to Kona? No. Ash and "non-burnables" (unrecoverable metal and glass; oversize, mixed and wet materials) -- 25 percent to 50 percent of tonnage now going in the Hilo landfill -- would be trucked to West Hawaii landfill.
Would WTE cause pollution? No one knows with certainty whether there will or will not be pollution. It is known "waste" incineration generates harmful pollutants; and incinerators have emitted dioxin (known carcinogen), nitrous oxide (greenhouse gas), and heavy metals (local food-chain bio-accumulators).
Do environmental protection regulations assure community safety from pollution? No. Enforcement is typically an incinerator operator being fined after a violation has occurred and pollutants have been released into the local environment.
Does technology assure community safety from pollution? Only if the technology operates perfectly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 20 years or more. Actual experience has been that incinerator operators cut costs on maintenance, which degrades equipment with the result that pollutants are released into the environment. Operator negligence has left some local governments with unplanned expenditures to repair or replace degraded equipment.
How much electricity will be generated? About 3.5 megawatts -- an amount equivalent to about 2 percent of the island's peak electricity generation in 2006.
Is WTE good for the local economy? No. WTE creates minimal local jobs, retains no operating profits locally, and leaves local recycling businesses with an uncertain future.
Would the county go into debt? Yes. WTE would be the largest-ever debt-funded capital expenditure.
What is the alternative? Reward resource conservation. Reduce "waste" generated. Re-use discarded materials. Recycle ever more of the rest. Disposal of the diminishing portion of materials not reused or recycled may require another East Hawaii landfill, trucking "waste" to West Hawaii landfill, or shipping to landfill off-island.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Would WTE prevent trucking from Hilo to Kona? No. Ash and "non-burnables" (unrecoverable metal and glass; oversize, mixed and wet materials) -- 25 percent to 50 percent of tonnage now going in the Hilo landfill -- would be trucked to West Hawaii landfill.
Would WTE cause pollution? No one knows with certainty whether there will or will not be pollution. It is known "waste" incineration generates harmful pollutants; and incinerators have emitted dioxin (known carcinogen), nitrous oxide (greenhouse gas), and heavy metals (local food-chain bio-accumulators).
Do environmental protection regulations assure community safety from pollution? No. Enforcement is typically an incinerator operator being fined after a violation has occurred and pollutants have been released into the local environment.
Does technology assure community safety from pollution? Only if the technology operates perfectly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 20 years or more. Actual experience has been that incinerator operators cut costs on maintenance, which degrades equipment with the result that pollutants are released into the environment. Operator negligence has left some local governments with unplanned expenditures to repair or replace degraded equipment.
How much electricity will be generated? About 3.5 megawatts -- an amount equivalent to about 2 percent of the island's peak electricity generation in 2006.
Is WTE good for the local economy? No. WTE creates minimal local jobs, retains no operating profits locally, and leaves local recycling businesses with an uncertain future.
Would the county go into debt? Yes. WTE would be the largest-ever debt-funded capital expenditure.
What is the alternative? Reward resource conservation. Reduce "waste" generated. Re-use discarded materials. Recycle ever more of the rest. Disposal of the diminishing portion of materials not reused or recycled may require another East Hawaii landfill, trucking "waste" to West Hawaii landfill, or shipping to landfill off-island.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park