Have a look at this New York Times article:
Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 12, 2010
HORSHOLM, Denmark — The lawyers and engineers who dwell in an elegant enclave here are at peace with the hulking neighbor just over the back fence: a vast energy plant that burns thousands of tons of household garbage and industrial waste, round the clock.
Far cleaner than conventional incinerators, this new type of plant converts local trash into heat and electricity. Dozens of filters catch pollutants, from mercury to dioxin, that would have emerged from its smokestack only a decade ago.… Read more
It talks about a new generation of waste-to-energy plant, where metals, plastics and other recyclables are removed before combustibles are burned. The resulting dioxin emissions are less than what comes from backyard barbeques. People live really close to these plants.
Here is a video of one of these waste-to-energy plants that are now popping up all over Europe.
Reggie Castanares, Business Manager of the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union, told us about visiting one of these plants in Germany. He said he stood right next to a truck dumping municipal garbage and could not even smell it because of the suction that pulled the air into the system.
More about this to follow.
Hopefully the powers that we entrust to make decisions for us will wake up and recognize that our solid waste is a resource that can solve our problems rather then create costly and toxic environmental management issues associated with landfills.
Our current thinking and practices for solid waste, energy conservation / energy production, and resource utilization needs to shift. There is no room for waste in the future. Everything, including solid waste, has energy locked up in.
The choice is simple we either utilize it or waste it. In nature nothing is wasted, it’s utilized…
Thanks Richard for all you do to enlighten others.