Waste
and
recycling
# The best thing we can do about waste is to avoid buying
stuff in the first place. The second best way is to re-use some or all
of the 'rubbish'.
# The British way of dealing with waste is to bury it
in the ground. This is known as 'landfill' and these tips now cover 109
square miles (an area the size of Warwick). Every year we dump more
than 20 million tonnes.
In the past the only other way of dealing with the
problem was to burn it in incinerators. This created dangerous gases,
horrible smells and toxic fall-out. No wonder that people scream blue
murder if anyone even mentions incineration. Not long ago a local
proposal to build an incinerator in Burscough created such an outcry
that the project was abandoned. It would take a brave local councillor
to dare to mention the 'i-word' these days.
But hang on. Incineration
has improved enormously over recent years. Government emission controls
are now stricter than for ordinary power stations. Burning waste is now
near to 100% safe and the heat produced can be used to generate
electricity and hot water for housing.
There are many other methods. Some are already in
production; others are on the way.
Biomass
power plants create power, heat and steam by burning waste wood.
Anaerobic digestion
in plain English means taking agricultural waste (like wet grass, food
waste and waste from animals) and 'cooking' it in a zero-oxygen
environment. This produces biogas which is then used to generate
electricity and heat.
The gas
escaping from landfill sites can be burned to produce
electricity. All waste in the Isle of Man goes to produce enough gas to
generate one tenth of the power needed on the island.
Some large industrial plants use their own waste to
produce power. For example a firm in Norfolk burns 420,000 tonnes a year of chicken droppings
and uses the power for its own energy needs.
The cement industry
uses large amounts of power. By burning household rubbish,sewage
sludge, plastic waste and old tyres, the cement company Cemex produces
a fuel which is used in its own factories.
British Airways
intend to build a plant in East London to turn half a million tonnes of
landfill waste a year into 16 million gallons of jet fuel.
Biofuels
are still controversial. As soon as the agricultural industry realised
that 'surplus' food could be used to produce vehicle fuels, large
amounts of food were diverted from human use and converted into petrol
and diesel. Meanwhile millions of people are starving. But there was no
problem for the coach company Stagecoach; they used re-cycled chip fat
to power
some of its vehicles. Good thinking·
# The amount of electronic waste is increasing at an
alarming rate, according to a U.N. report. Much of this waste contains
toxic materials and will create serious problems for health and the
environment. The Third World is seen as an easy target for dumping;
boatloads of e-waste are arriving daily and children are scavenging to
find valuable metals which they can sell.
So what can *we* do now ? Do you really need yet
another gadget ? Why replace your present phone ? Isn't it working O.K.
? A new TV or computer or car ? Why ?
In 2008, the UK
achieved a 23% dry recycling rate and a 12% composting rate, with 10%
of municipal waste being incinerated and 55% going to landfill. This
was compared to the cross-Europe average of 23% of municipal waste
going to dry recycling, 17% to composting, 20% to incineration and 40%
being landfilled.
The amount of
waste produced per head of population in the UK was higher than the EU
average, with 572kg per person produced in the country compared to the
EU-27 average of 524kg per person.
The best
performing countries for dry recycling were: Germany (48%); Belgium
(35%); Sweden (35%); and, Ireland (32%). The poorest
performing countries were: Czech Republic (2%); Romania (1%); and,
Bulgaria (0%).
Recycle Now
Think the unthinkable
Waste and minerals sites
in
West Lancashire
West Lancs Community
Recycling Service