[greenyes] Re: Changing World Technologies

[JRay3@no.address]

Alan and others,

I was trying to point out how mindfully.org was confusing the issue by 
equating depolymerization with incineration. I know the differences very well.  
Several organizations have in my view been confusing the issue by making 
sweeping generalities about waste combustion in any form, such as 
www.mindfully.org and GAIA at www.no-burn.org 
Combustion will provide the great majority of our power for the forseeable 
future, so we should advocate for the least harmful methods of combustion 
available.

EPA placed energy recovery above landfilling in it's waste management 
hierarchy for good reasons.  There are numerous examples of 'waste' incineration 
projects that achieve net environmental benefits when compared to the 
alternatives.  One that should be especially close to GRRN listers is in the recycling of 
paper.  Paper recycling mills produce far more short fiber sludge than do 
virgin mills; 15% or more of the incoming paper comes out as sludge.  This is an 
organic waste, mixed with bits of film plastic (envelope windows, tape, bags, 
strapping, etc.) that is thereby unsuitable for composting, but is often 
landfilled and will generate methane emissions for decades to come.  The short fiber 
sludge is sometimes dried and burned to power the mill.  Not only does this 
combustion produce carbon dioxide, a much more innocuous greenhouse gas than 
the methane from a landfill, but in comparison to coal, it results in reduced 
mercury emmissions, eliminates a lot of transportation, avoids the impacts from 
mining, and produces an ash that poses fewer concerns and offers more 
potential for beneficial use than coal ash.

The production of pelletized fuels from low-grade scrap paper and non PVC 
plastics is another option that can greatly improve the viability of some 
postconsumer recycling programs, with the caveat that fuels must be considered as an 
option of last resort, with recycling being the first priority.  Even the best 
curbside recycling programs generate significant amounts of nonrecyclable 
paper and plastic waste that must be disposed of.  Residue disposal costs 
threaten the viability of many recycling programs, and fuels production can sometimes 
make the difference between life and death for local recycling efforts.  
Don't rule out burning without first considering each case.

Jay Donnaway
Community Waste Control
Atlanta, GA
(Former nonprofit MRF operator and State of Georgia Recycling Coordinator)