A new report for waste managers and local authorities detailing how to deal with the small fraction of household waste that is currently non-recyclable will be published by Greenpeace Environmental Trust on March 17. Cool Waste Management shows how the process of Mechanical and Biological Treatment is a safer and cleaner alternative to burning rubbish in polluting incinerators or burying it in landfill sites.
'Cool Waste Management' not only includes a detailed design plan for a state-of-the-art Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant but provides data on emissions from MBT, costs of building and running a plant. MBT combined with a big drive to recycle in Edmonton in Canada has enabled the town to reduce its waste by 70%.
Used after the maximum amount of dry recyclables and organic waste has been removed, MBT uses sieving, magnets and air currents to extract any remaining recyclables. MBT then cleans the waste to make it biologically stable so it can be landfilled without the risk of fires or leaching.
Greenpeace campaigner Mark Strutt said,
"Any local authority serious about environmental goals should look at this report. The MBT plant described in it can be built instead of a polluting incinerator to deal with any waste left over after recycling. Not only will it not churn out huge amounts of poisonous gases over the surrounding area but it is cost competitive, flexible, and allows local authorities to adapt to future changes in the quantity and composition of our household rubbish".
Greenpeace's report compares three alternatives for dealing with residual waste: (1) incineration, (2) landfill of untreated waste and (3) MBT followed by landfill. The results show that MBT followed by landfill is the best environmental option, preferable to incineration in terms of toxic emissions, climate impacts and resource and energy conservation.
Public opposition to incineration has grown during the past three years with six applications for planning permission refused and several councils ruling out incineration as an option. The Government has also backtracked and now offers little support to incineration.
Increased interest in new techniques for treating residual waste, means MBT is now a serious option for waste managers. The plant proposed by Greenpeace and designed by Austrian Environmental Engineers TBU, is energy self-sufficient and produces the same amount of waste requiring landfill as a modern incinerator.
'Cool Waste Management' makes a distinction between 'fuel preparation plants' which use a version of MBT to split waste into high and low calorific value streams before burning it in incinerators, and MBT designed to follow intensive kerbside recycling schemes and can help achieve recycling rates of up to 85%. The cleansed and stabilised residue from this form of MBT can be safely landfilled.
The new report follows How to comply with the Landfill Directive without Incineration and Zero Waste all published by Greenpeace. All these reports can be downloaded as Adobe Acrobat files or a hard copy can be obtained free of charge from:
Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN.
Further information:
Contact:
The Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
