Incineration versus Zero Waste

1. Incineration versus Zero Waste St. Paul, MN, Nov 14, 2007 Dr Paul Connett Professor Emeritus of Chemistry St Lawrence University, Canton, NY Paul@FluorideALERT.org www.FluorideALERT.org

2. Air emissions versus fuel(pounds per thousand kwh) Leaflet from Xcel Energy

3. Air emissions versus fuel(pounds per thousand kwh) Leaflet from Xcel Energy

4. Air emissions versus fuel(pounds per thousand kwh) Leaflet from Xcel Energy

5. Air emissions versus fuel(pounds per thousand kwh) Leaflet from Xcel Energy

6. Air emissions versus fuel(pounds per thousand kwh) Leaflet from Xcel Energy

7. ECONOMIC COSTS • Natural Gas Burner for ROCK-TENN • = $ 11.2 million • RDF/biomass Burner • $300 - $500 million ?????

8. OUTLINE • 1. Waste Management & the Big Picture • 2. The arguments against incineration • 3. Incineration air emissions • 4. Incineration & dioxins • 5. The alternative to landfills and incinerators

9. Waste Management & the Big Picture

12. We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to We cannot run a throwaway society on a finite planet We are robbing our own children and grandchildren This is colonialism in time! Landfills BURY the evidence IncineratorsBURNthe evidence We need to face the real problem…

13. Our task is to fight the throwaway ethic & over-consumption

14. Not only is over-consumption giving us a local waste crisis but also…

15. … a Global crisis

16. Global warming is the symptom, what is the cause?

17. The Global Crisis:Since the Industrial Revolution we have imposed a linear society on a planet that functions in circles

18. A LINEAR SOCIETY

19. A LINEAR SOCIETY Extraction

20. A LINEAR SOCIETY Extraction Production

21. A LINEAR SOCIETY Extraction Production Consumption

22. A LINEAR SOCIETY Extraction Waste Production Consumption

23. Advertising/TV Extraction Waste Production Consumption

24. Over-advertisingproducesOver-consumption

25. By the time a high school student leaves school, he or she will have watched over 350,000 TV commercials. Paul Hawken The Ecology of Commerce.

26. Myth versus Reality • THE MYTH: • The more you consume the happier you become • THE REALITY: • The more you consume the fatter you become!

27. Modern man!

28. “The world has enough for everyone’s needbut not for everyone’s greed”Mahatma Gandhi

29. A LINEAR SOCIETY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Waste

30. A LINEAR SOCIETY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Waste Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

31. ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Waste Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

32. ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

33. ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

34. INCINERATION & LANDFILLS ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

35. RECYCLING OF MATERIALS ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

36. REUSE OF OBJECTS ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

37. COMPOSTING ENERGY ENERGY Extraction of Virgin Materials Production of Manufactured items Consumption Discarded Materials Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

38. Waste Management Options and Climate Change. AEA 2002 • “Overall, source segregation of MSW, followed by recycling (for paper, metals, textiles and plastics) and composting/AD (for putrescible wastes) gives the lowest net flux of greenhouse gases compared to other forms of treatment of bulk MSW”

39. Kg Greenhouse gas/tonne Municipal Waste Waste Management Options and Climate Change. AEA 2002 Slide from Attilio Tornavacca

40. Incineration is a waste of energy! • 3-4 times more energy can be saved by a combination of reuse, recycling and composting compared to incineration • Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Morris, jeff.morris@zerowaste.com

41. Energy Comparison: Recycling versus incineration(ICF consulting, 2005)

42. 2. Arguments against incinerators • They generate a toxic ash which is poorly handled • They generate toxic air emissions, which are poorly monitored • They are extremely expensive and a poor investment for our children. • They are very unpopular with the public and pushed into communities undemocratically • Incineration is not sustainable • There are better alternatives which are

43. Incineration is extremely unpopular • In the US over 300 incinerator proposals defeated since 1985 • US has not permitted a new trash incinerator since 1995.

44. Incineration is a poor investment • Most of the money spent on incinerators goes into complicated machinery and leaves the community, whereas • The money spent on the alternatives goes into jobs and stays in the community.

45. Think of an incinerator as three boxes

46. Think of an incinerator as three boxes 1. The Furnace which Converts 100’s of Tons of trash into Trillions of tiny particles and gases.

47. Think of an incinerator as three boxes 1. The Furnace which Converts 100’s of Tons of trash into Trillions of tiny particles and gases. 2. The Air Pollution control devices Which attempt to capture the tiny particles and some of the gases

48. Think of an incinerator as three boxes 1. The Furnace which Converts 100’s of Tons of trash into Trillions of tiny particles and gases. 3. A depository for the tiny particles captured (the fly ash) and the bottom ash 2. The Air Pollution control devices Which attempt to capture the tiny particles and some of the gases

49. For every three tons of trash you get about one ton of ash ELECTRICITY TURBINE WET SCRUBBER SECONDARY CHAMBER DE-NOX STEAM FABRIC FILTER TEMP < 200oC CHUTE BOILER SEMI- DRY SCRUBBER Ca(OH) 2 SUSPENSION ACTIVATED CHARCOAL GRATES AMMONIA INJECTION TRASH FLY ASH BOTTOM ASH

50. Ash management • In Germany & Switzerland fly ash put into nylon bags and placed in salt mines • In Japan some incinerators vitrify the ash • In the Netherlands they put the fly ash into asphalt and the bottom ash into road bed • In Denmark… • They send all the ash to Norway • In the US the EPA allows the bottom ash and fly ash to be mixed together before testing