12-11-2007, 10:16 AM
James, I was using the EPA's (2006 gross solid waste per person) figures of 29 lbs per person per week, of which 19 lbs is estimated (2006 EPA residential available recycle load) as recyclable or can be composted. Their figures are only residential, not including any commercial or industrial solid waste.
I agree there may be alternatives to incineration or landfill of material unable to be recycled or composted using commercially viable methods, but I'm not hearing them. My point is WTE just shuffles the problems of solid waste from ground to air.
My opposition to normal WTE incinerators is the mixed load of trash. Burning a specific product, waste wood, or plastics, or petro-chemical waste products, or paper, etc impact is much smaller than mixed loads of everything and some things nobody can identify. I’ve never seen any mixed load incinerator (destruction or WTE) that has met its environmental claims. I’m also not a fan of using the term “Waste to Energy”. Isn’t it still an incinerator?
I agree there may be alternatives to incineration or landfill of material unable to be recycled or composted using commercially viable methods, but I'm not hearing them. My point is WTE just shuffles the problems of solid waste from ground to air.
My opposition to normal WTE incinerators is the mixed load of trash. Burning a specific product, waste wood, or plastics, or petro-chemical waste products, or paper, etc impact is much smaller than mixed loads of everything and some things nobody can identify. I’ve never seen any mixed load incinerator (destruction or WTE) that has met its environmental claims. I’m also not a fan of using the term “Waste to Energy”. Isn’t it still an incinerator?