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Incineration versus Zero Waste

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Incineration versus Zero Waste

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    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)

    3. Air emissions versus fuel (pounds per thousand kwh)

    4. Air emissions versus fuel (pounds per thousand kwh)

    5. Air emissions versus fuel (pounds per thousand kwh)

    6. Air emissions versus fuel (pounds per thousand kwh)

    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 Incinerators BURN the 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

    24. Over-advertising produces Over-consumption

    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 need but not for everyone’s greed” Mahatma Gandhi

    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

    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

    47. Think of an incinerator as three boxes

    48. Think of an incinerator as three boxes

    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

    51. 3. Incineration air emissions

    56. Incineration is not sustainable It wastes material resources It wastes energy It wastes the opportunity to fight global warming and the many other impacts of extracting and processing virgin materials

    57. Incineration & nanoparticles Both morbidity and mortality in large cities can be related to particulate matter (PM) (from traffic, power stations and industry) As the particles get smaller the relationship gets stronger A modern incinerator converts hundreds or thousands of tons of trash each day into trillions of nanoparticles These nanoparticles are the most dangerous of any combustion source

    58. Incineration & nanoparticles Nanoparticles from incinerators contain: neurotoxic metals, stabilized free radicals thousands of newly synthesized compounds (including PCBs, dioxins and furans). Any toxic element used in commerce has the potential to end up in nanoparticles produced by incinerators

    59. The dangers of nanoparticles Nanoparticles are not efficiently captured by air pollution control devices, travel long distances, penetrate deep into the lungs

    62. Nano Pathology Nano particles can easily cross the cell membranes of every tissue Including the blood brain barrier and the nuclear membrane Nanoparticles can carry neurotoxic metals into the brain

    63. Aggregati di Piombo, Bario, Cromo, Ferro e Silicio in Cervello.

    64. Nano Pathology Nanoparticles can carry stabilized free radicals (which cause oxidative stress - inflammation - many degenerative diseases) into every tissue in the body also dioxins and furans

    65. Free Radical Attack Diese Folie kann optional verwendet werden.Diese Folie kann optional verwendet werden.

    66. 4. Dioxins and Incineration

    67. Dioxins - major health concerns Dioxins accumulate in animal fat. One liter of cows’ milk gives the same dose of dioxin as breathing air next to the cows for EIGHT MONTHS (Connett and Webster, 1987). In one day a grazing cow puts as much dioxin into its body as a human being would get in 14 years of breathing (McLachlan, 1995)! Dioxins steadily accumulate in human body fat. The man cannot get rid of them BUT A woman can… …by having a baby! Thus the highest dose of dioxin goes to the fetus and then to the new born infant via breastfeeding…

    68. Dioxins interfere with fetal and infant devlopment Dioxins act like fat soluble hormones Disrupt at least six different hormonal systems: male and female sex hormones; thyroid hormones; insulin; gastrin and gluocorticoid. Linda S. Birnbaum (Health Effects Research Laboratory, US EPA) Developmental Effects of Dioxins Environmental Health Perspectives, 103: 89-94, 1995

    69. Effects of dioxins on thyroid function of new born babies H.J. Pluim et al., The Lancet, May 23, 1992. (Volume 339, 1303) Examined 38 new born babies, divided them into 2 groups: Low-exposed (mothers had average 18.6 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 8.7 - 28) High-exposed (mothers had average 37.5 ppt dioxins in milk fat, range 29 - 63)

    70. Effect of Dioxins on Neonatal Thyroid Function after Low-exposure and High-exposure at various ages

    71. Our Stolen Future How Man-made Chemicals are Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival Theo Colborn John Peterson Myers Dianne Dumanoski 1994

    72. IQ and population

    73. IQ and population

    74. IQ and population

    76. Institute of Medicine, 2003 Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in the Food Supply Strategies to Decrease Exposure July 1, 2003

    77. Institute of Medicine, 2003 Fetuses and breastfeeding infants may be at particular risk from exposure to dioxin like compounds (DLCs) due to their potential to cause adverse neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioral, and immune system effects in developing systems…

    78. Institute of Medicine, 2003 …The committee recommends that the government place a high public health priority on reducing DLC intakes by girls and young women in the years well before pregnancy is likely to occur. (by) Substituting low-fat or skim milk, for whole milk, (and)… foods lower in animal fat…

    80. Do not build incinerators within 50 km of food production - particularly grazing animals

    81. Promoters say that modern incinerators have solved the dioxin problem, but have they?

    82. Yang & Kim (2004). Characteristics of dioxins and metals emission from radwaste plasma arc melter system.  Chemosphere 57: 421-428 When PVC was fed into the high-temperature melter, a significant quantity of PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead was emitted. Wet scrubbing with rapid quenching, as well as a low temperature two-step fine filtration, or both of them together cannot effectively control the volatile metal species and gas-phase PCDD/Fs. The removal of PVC from the feed waste stream must also be effective to reduce the emissions of the PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead species.

    83. While modern incinerators have reduced dioxin emissions there is no real accountability in most countries

    90. Incineration is not sustainable

    91. DIFFERENT TIMES DIFFERENT QUESTIONS

    92. Incineration: Perfecting a bad idea Our task in the 21st Century is not to find better ways to destroy discarded materials But to stop making packaging and products that have to be destroyed!

    93. 5. The Sustainable Alternative to landfills and incineration = the ZERO WASTE 2020 strategy

    94. Zero Waste 2020 No to incinerators No to landfills No to a throwaway society Yes to a sustainable society Zero Waste is an idealistic goal, but Zero Waste 2020 puts it into a realistic timeframe Zero Waste is a new direction It’s moving from the back end of waste disposal to the front end of resource management and industrial design for sustainability

    95. Waste is not a technical problem but a problem of organization, education and industrial design

    96. To achieve Zero Waste

    97. Industrial Responsibility 1. Design for sustainability 2. Clean production 3. Extended Producer Responsibility

    98. Extended Producer Responsibilty - packaging

    99. Extended Producer Responsibilty - products XEROX CORPORATION EUROPE Recovers copying machines from 16 different countries Takes them to huge warehouses in the Netherlands, where the machines are stripped down for parts and materials 95% of materials recovered for reuse or recycling! This is saving Xerox $76 millions a year!!

    100. Solid waste is the visible face of inefficiency!

    101. For more examples of Industrial Responsibility Contact Gary Liss at gary@garyliss.com For more information on EPR initiatives contact Bill Sheehan at Bill@productpolicy.org

    102. COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY Community responsibility begins with Source Separation One container for compostables (i.e.the organic fraction) One (or more) containers for the recyclables One container for the residuals

    105. Slides from Enzo Favoino

    106. Composting Facility for San Francisco

    109. MATERIALS RECOVERY FACIILITY

    112. We have to minimize what goes into container 3 - the residuals

    115. Burlington, Vermont Recycle North (27 employees, gross income over $700,000) offers an excellent model of reuse, repair, job training and deconstruction - see video. www.recyclenorth.org See also Urban Ore, Berkeley Revolve, Canberra, Australia Waste Wise, Georgetown, Ontario EcoCycle, Boulder, Colorado Eureka Recycling, St. Paul, MN

    117. Italy A supermarket chain near Florence is providing dispensers which allow customers to refill shampoo and detergent bottles… Others wine, water and milk

    118. Alcune iniziative italiane per la riduzione

    119. Un pizzico di creativitŕ a monte puň far risparmiare milioni a valle

    120. Ireland Has a 15 cent tax on plastic shopping bags - reduced use by over 90% in one year 80 towns in Australia have banned plastic shopping bags completely

    122. The residual fraction is the key difference between incineration and the Zero Waste strategy Incineration attempts to make the residuals disappear Zero Waste 2020 needs to make the residuals VERY VISIBLE, because… Residual Fraction = bad industrial design and poor purchasing decisions We need better industrial design, community organization and individual responsibility to move towards sustainability

    123. The Key Step Forward

    125. What we need

    129. RESEARCH CENTER Improve capture rate of reusables, recyclables and clean compostables (Captain Garbage - make it fun!) Recommend waste avoidance strategies for local businesses Develop some local uses for some materials Recommend better industrial designs to industry on packaging etc Develop alternatives to some of the toxics in products (batteries, paint, solvents etc)

    131. The Residual Screening & Research Facility Is the key link between Community Responsibility and Industrial Responsibility

    132. Networking for Sustainability Need a network of local research centers linked to state, regional and federal research institutes working on a SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

    133. WITH INCINERATION WE CONVERT 3 TONS OF TRASH into: 1 ton of ASH That nobody wants!

    134. WITH THE ZERO WASTE 2020 STRATEGY WE CONVERT 3 TONS OF TRASH into: 1 ton of compostables 1 ton of recyclables and 1 ton of EDUCATION!

    135. The Message to Industry: If we can’t reuse it, recycle it or compost it, Industry shouldn’t be making it and we shouldn’t be buying it!!!

    136. Another three reasons why ZW 2020 is better than incineration Jobs! Jobs !! Jobs !!!

    137. Nova Scotia 50% diversion in 5 years (Halifax ~ 60%) 1000 jobs created collecting and treating discarded materials Another 2000 jobs created in the industries handling the collected material Nearly all the separated materials are re-used in Nova Scotia’s own industries.

    139. Zero waste Initiatives around the world www.GRRN.org www.ZWIA.org www.CRRA.org www.ecocycle.org

    140. Canberra, Australia Passed law “No Waste by 2010” Currently over 70% diversion Setting up a “Resource Recovery Park” to locate all the industries which can make products out of separated materials

    141. Ontario The city of Markham (north of Toronto) has diverted 70% from landfill in 2 years. Contact: Councillor Erin Shapiro eshapero@markam.ca www.Markham.ca

    142. Prince Edward Island, Canada Whole island has door to door collection of recyclables and compostables

    143. New Zealand Over 50% of communities have declared a Zero Waste strategy

    144. San Francisco Population = 850,000 Very little space 50% waste diverted by 2000 63% waste diverted by 2004 75% waste diverted by 2010 (goal) 100% (or very close!) by 2020 – Zero Waste

    145. The “Fantastic 3”

    146. ALL FOOD SCRAPS, YARD TRIMMINGS AND COMPOSTABLE PAPER GO IN THE GREEN CART

    147. The source separated organics go to a composting faciolity

    148. THE COMPOST IS SOLD TO LOCAL FARMERS

    149. THE FOOD PRODUCED GOES BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO

    150. ALL BOTTLES, CANS AND RECYCLABLE PAPER GO IN THE BLUE CART

    151. MATERIALS RECOVERY FACIILITY

    152. Italy Italy has pioneered new “door to door” collection systems to maximize the collection of clean organic material Important work done by Enzo Favorino from the Agricultural School in the Parco Monza, near Milan.

    153. Comunitŕ in Lazio che hanno riciclato piů del 50% dei rifiuti attraverso il sistema di raccolta porta-a-porta in un solo anno!

    154. Italy Over 600 communities in Italy are achieving over 50% diversion using “door to door” collection systems In the North, Novara - (population = 100,000) at 70% diversion in 18 months In the South, Near Salerno 4 communities over 70%

    155. Italy The Treviso region - 22 communities averaging 76% diversion

    156. RISULTATI QUANTITATIVI AUMENTO % RACCOLTA DIFFERENZIATA

    158. DIFFERENZIATA COSTA DI PIU?

    159. La gestione dei rifiuti nei Comuni del Consorzio Priula Paolo Contň Consorzio Intercomunale Priula - Villorba (TV) consorzio@priula.it

    160. VIDEOS On the Road to Zero Waste: Part 1: Nova Scotia, Canada Part 2: Burlington, Vermont, US Part 3: Canberra, Australia Part 4: San Francisco ZERO WASTE: Idealistic Dream or Realistic Goal?

    161. GOOD LEADERSHIP

    162. HUMAN “BORINGS” Have no imagination have no vision have no sense of humor are obsessively tidy confuse being clever with being wise have more faith in machines than people believe science and technology can fix every problem believe man is the centre of the universe And a woman’s place is in the kitchen!

    163. Boring experts think with the wrong end of their bodies !

    166. The waste problem Is too important to be left to “waste experts” We need all sectors involved if we are to move towards a sustainable society As far as sustainability is concerned the waste problem is a fabulous place to start

    171. Three final messages To Citizens: Don’t let the “experts” take your common sense away To Politicians: Put your faith back in people - stop trying to solve all your problems with overpaid consultants and magic machines To Activists: Have Fun!

    173. The Battle Hymn of Garbage (Chorus) We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We know there’s a better way!

    174. The Battle Hymn of Garbage While we recognize our landfills All are swelling with the waste This doesn’t justify A bad decision made in haste! Let us put our heads together So the problem may be faced And we must do it now!

    175. The Battle Hymn of Garbage (Chorus) We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We know there’s a better way!

    176. The Battle Hymn of Garbage Mine eyes have seen the garbage That’s a smoldering on the grate We must stop incineration Before it is too late Unless we wish the dangers We had better separate And we must do it now!

    177. The Battle Hymn of Garbage (Chorus) We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We don’t want incineration We know there’s a better way!

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