Is Waste-to-Energy Incineration Viable

IBC · 2019-04-05T15:37:40.137Z

Now, I need to be upfront and admit my utter ignorance of this concept as evidenced by the fact that I just heard of waste-to-energy inceration and the below article is from 2013. However, the concept intrigues me. Sweden has bee burning their trash for energy and it seems to be a better solution (when coupled with recycling) than landfilling. Sweden claims that it’s a green method, but it’s run into some opposition in the US.

So my question to the Forumites knowledgeable about such things is, is this a viable means of waste disposal? Should we be pursuing this strategy?

Energy News Network – 17 Oct 13

Is burning garbage green? In Sweden, there's little debate | Energy News Network

While waste-to-energy incinerators remain a controversial topic among U.S. environmentalists, there’s been little such debate in Sweden as the country increased its waste burning capacity over the past decade.

Est. reading time: 5 minutes

Candyman · 2019-04-05T15:40:30.373Z

The county I live in is big on Waste-to-Energy. We incinerate upwards of 90% of waste that would normally go into landfills. It seems to be working for us.

OCRRA

Waste-to-Energy

Instead of going right to a landfill, most of our community’s trash is sent to the local Waste-to-Energy Facility, where it is turned into enough electricity to power 30,000 households…

IBC · 2019-04-05T15:46:15.329Z

So…how about you guys convince Seneca County to do the same? Seneca Meadows is a stinky eyesore that may well be leaching waste into the Finger Lakes (I’m a former Finger Lakes guy in OH, though I’ll be headed to Rochester soon)

Any thoughts on why this isnt catching on elsewhere?

Thanks for the link, btw. 90% landfill reduction plus energy sounds like a good deal. Has that resulted in lower energy costs on the consumer side?

Candyman · 2019-04-05T15:58:37.115Z

I’m having trouble finding the cost vs savings at this point. There seem to be pros and cons with this as there is an increase in trash collection and hauling fees. OCRRA has helped defray their own costs by starting to accept haul from other counties. This is limited but it does help these other counties manage their landfill issues too. I’m just kinda scratching the surface of what I know about this. I had been oblivious to it for a while but my daughter is an interior designer and works for a notable design firm here. She’s also a huge proponent of sustainable design so she’s actually toured the incinerator.

It’s a very interested technology and possible long term solution to waste issues. It seems to be evolving nicely here. But I wonder if it’s too expensive for other counties. I know counties like Seneca, Cayuga, Madison, Cortland, or other counties of the same makeup may not be able to afford to build this kind of thing.

IBC · 2019-04-05T17:24:01.258Z

Seneca Meadows in Seneca County imports garbage from NYC to be profitable. I imagine the same tactic would work fine with the incinerators as seems to be the case up there.

I wonder if several counties could pool their resources and build one in a central location for cost sharing. Perhaps state and federal aid would be available, too.

If there’s an ecological and economic benefit, it seems a no brainer to me.