Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage. ~ Mason Cooley
I passed two large piles of garbage early this morning. Spring cleaning is in full swing. There were mattresses, rickety shelving, large toy castoffs, and the ubiquitous bulging garbage bags. Today the 'sanitary' trucks will pick up our extravagant waste and dutifully transport them to distant landfill sites. Is there another option?
A New York Times article profiles the new age of garbage incineration taking place in Denmark. "Far cleaner than conventional incinerators, this new type of plant converts local trash into heat and electricity. Dozens of filters catch pollutants, from mercury to dioxin, that would have emerged from its smokestack only a decade ago."
The plants run so cleanly that many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration.
"With all these innovations, Denmark now regards garbage as a clean alternative fuel rather than a smelly, unsightly problem. And the incinerators, known as waste-to-energy plants, have acquired considerable cachet."
Denmark now has 29 such plants, serving 98 municipalities in a country of 5.5 million people, and 10 more are planned or under construction. Across Europe, there are about 400 plants, with Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands leading the pack in expanding them and building new ones.On the other hand, New York City alone sends 10,500 tons of residential waste each day to landfills in places like Ohio and South Carolina. And that scenario plays out in a similar ways in other cities worldwide.
What are your thoughts about our garbage footprint? How we can tread more lightly? One encouraging sign that I see is that people are using more reusable, recycled, eco-friendly bags and cutting down on the scourge of plastic.
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