Here is an article I found on Fresh Start Recycling’s blog:
I’m for Waste to Energy because, realistically “Zero Waste” is a ludicrous proposition. I absolutely support reducing (not eliminating) the garbage we create but we’ll for EVER generate garbage. FOR EVER! Burying this commodity doesn’t seem wise to me. It seems to me, that we have the option to recycle the by product of our existence (the garbage) by turning it into energy to power our lights, and heat our greenhouses.
Thinking of new, innovative ways to recycle and reduce is laudable, but in the mean time, I have to say, burying energy in the ground is a bit silly. The people that I’ve spoken to that are hungry to create energy from our waste say that they lack guidelines to which to adhere.
In much the same way we have to have our cars pass Air Care, they’ll keep their smoke stacks polluting at manageable levels. A goal of zero waste seems to keep metro Vancouver diverting about 70% of it’s waste. As long as the regulation exists to either maintain the status quo of 70% diversion or increase that, then I think burning that 30% and turning that waste into energy deserve real serious consideration. I’m not a huge fan of the never ending, paralytic, back and forth conversation ad nauseum. Whatever the answer is, I’d like to see some action one way or the other.
Here’s what the professional writers at the CBC have to say on the topic and both sides of the debate are explored. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/06/23/bc-garbage-burning-gvrd.html
There seems to be people very passionate on both sides of the debate. Does anyone out there care to weigh in?
