aaemet said:
People
It can be done. It has been done.
Where has it been done? In Latin America and the Caribbean? Not that I know of, but maybe I've missed something. Anywhere in the developing world??? Enlighten us. Give us an example to check out.
You can get 90% reuse, with a combination of recycling & Waste-To-Energy.
And where on earth do you get this magic figure from? According to the latest compendium of OECD environmental statistics related to waste (see link provided below), the highest recycling rate (which includes energy recovery in their working definition) was 67% in the year 2000 for Finland. You're claiming that the DR will do better than OECD nations?
So you ask, "Why wasn't it done, here or there?"
Because the friggin Government is involved.
It will work if it is 100% contracted out, and not in Government hands.
That is one of the key problems of applying such a project to the DR. Do you know of
any major infrastructure project in the DR that the government has kept totally "hands-off"??? Any??? Bet even Hillbilly, whose expertise on the DR I'd match against anyone's on this board, cannot name one.
The commercial businesses in the U.S. that run transfer stations, do very well from the recycling. The ones run by the cities barely produce anything.
Well, we can agree on one thing -- most municipal-run programs in the U.S. do a poor job of recycling. NYC's program is a case in point. But not all do.
It's interesting that you qualify your point by mentioning "transfer stations." Any data or examples of contracted municipal waste transfer stations you can cite to back up this claim of doing "very well"? As I understand it from friends in the recycling biz here in the U.S., recyclers have had a tough go of it for the last few years. And much depends on
which materials they sort and recycle and the market prices for those materials.
In any case, examples from the U.S. should not be expected to be duplicated in the DR. Different market altogether.
It is a simple process. Give a company the trash and let them pay for it, work on it, sort it, recycle it, burn it.... Who gives a hoot?!
Nobody needs this garbage.
They're not charging even one peso.
Let them do what they want.
This is one of my concerns about proposals for waste-to-energy (WTE) projects in the DR or anywhere else in Latin America. "letting them do what they want" will probably mean poor emissions controls, resulting in toxics releases into the air and water. And as for the flue ash... are you able to argue with a straight face that the hazardous materials will be diligently sorted out of the waste stream in the DR before the wastes go to the burner? That there will be no ink cartridges, no Ni-Cd or mercury button batteries, no lead-acid car or inverter batteries, no flourescent lamps, no CRTs, no mercury thermometers, no paint cans or oil cans or pesticide containers, no transformers with PCBs, no PVC piping or containers, no asbestos, etc etc? Otherwise, we're looking at the distinct possibility of toxic ash at the end of the incineration, and I have news for you buddy,
the DR does not have ANY adequate storage or disposal facilities for hazardous wastes of any kind! Just ask the Environment Ministry. I have.
So if not disposed of within the DR, then what? Export it? To where? Under the DR's Basel Convention commitments, this would be difficult at best. And what country would accept toxic ash? Furthermore, who would pay for such exports? The company that says that they can do this all cheaply, without government largesse, yet still make a profit????
I did. Not convinced. Heard similar pitches like this all over Latin America. They weren't convincing either.
BTW, how about some information regarding this company Eduardo is citing? I have never heard of them, and a web search on their name comes up empty.
File that under "things that make you go 'hmmmmm'"
They want the trash, they'll pay for everything, and if they lose money, tough luck!
Gee, sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? The people have to pay nothing. No risk, all benefit. Cheap energy (3 cents a KWH???? yeah, right!) is promised. What is that phrase consumers are constantly warned with? "If it sounds too good to be true...."
The problem is..........
if you want my garbage, "what will you give me?"
I suggest, "A PUNCH IN THE FACE."
AA
:angry: :angry: :angry:
Instead of punching people out, maybe you should do some deeper research and consider some questions:
Is waste-to-energy (WTE) really the best way to go with the waste problem in the DR? And who really benefits? What if a concerted effort was made to practice waste minimization and recovery/recycling of key materials, and/or even carving a niche for the DR as an exporter of goods made with quality recycled materials? Wouldn't this extend the economic benefit beyond just the builders/operators of this WTE project?
For those thinking this WTE project will help with the DR's energy problem, consider for a second if any of the increases in production capacity have helped resolve that problem appreciably over the last 10 yrs?
Why on earth would any legitimate business offer to invest in the DR now and insist that it will not cost DR citizens one cent, while solving all their trash and energy problems?
No matter what project promoters will claim, the capital costs of such projects usually is high. Why would someone risk sinking that much money in the DR market right now for a tech & process never proven in the DR context, and involving two segments of Dominican socioeconomic life where historically there have been habitual, nay chronic, government interference and resulting market uncertainty?
Is this even a legitimate company, with a substantial track record in WTE projects?
Why on earth would a DR presidential candidate be pushing the proposal of a single company? [Personally, I
always smell a rat in the DR when a politician touts only one company's plan or product as the one that will save us all. Usually means the pol in question gets a cut on the action. Better when they check out competing technologies and put out a tender, picking the one that seems like the best and most appropriate mix for the best price/cost structure overall.]
What is in the DR that can lead people to believe that it can achieve higher recovery or recycling rates than Europe, North America, Japan or even Brazil?
Is the DR's environmental inspection and compliance machinery up to the task of ensuring that there are no toxic emissions from this WTE project, and that the flue ash is not toxic and is disposed of properly?
What happens to the waste that this project will NOT incinerate? If they do things properly, they will NOT incinerate "wet" trash, mainly food residues -- yet that is around 50% of the composition of DR municipal trash! Also, if they do it right, they will first sort out toxics. What will they do with the toxics? Get the government to haul them off (do you trust the government to handle them properly?)? Or dump it themselves or through third parties?
How in the world do these people figure their recycling rate and electricity cost figures? Based on what experience, and where? Are these figures even remotely applicable to the conditions in the DR?
OECD waste statistics