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Alternatives to Landfill as a Waste Management Technique

EU policy ranks alternative waste management techniques in the following order: 123Prevention of Waste Recycling and Reuse of material Safe disposal of waste that is not recyclable or re-useable in this ranking order: Incineration with Energy Recovery Incineration Landfill

Although it is widely recognised that Landfill is the most cost effective and implemented method of waste disposal, it is by no means the only method. The purpose of this page has been to set out some of the alternatives that local government can make use of, especially with regard to the context of Belfast and the closure of North Foreshore. Obviously with the closure of the site, there will be a need to find an alternative method of disposing of the waste that would have been buried in North Foreshore.

Incineration Incineration is the application of thermal treatment to wastes at very high temperatures in specifically designed furnaces. The volume of waste can be reduced by up to 90% and the weight of the waste by up to 60% (Bridgewater and Lidgren, 1981) and so incineration can be recognised as a highly effective method of waste reduction, however, there will still be left over matter which will also need to be disposed of, and often this residue is sent to landfill.

Advantages of Incineration Practical method of disposal Saves money with regard to transport Efficient alternative Sheer size of the reduction (90%) is beneficial to land (less space is used compared to Landfill

Advantages of Incineration over Landfill Can be used in order to reduce waste going into Landfill It destroys leachates and gas that would have been produced through landfill Disposes completely of hazardous waste so no direct risk to environment Visually more attractive than a landfill site Reduction in number of pests

Although it is still a widely implemented especially since the incinerators themselves have been redesigned to produce less air pollution and less ash residue it is also highly controversial. The incineration process produces major pollutants such as lead mercury, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulphuric acid which can have a number of associated problems. Disadvantages of Incineration The main disadvantage has to be the cost of the process (unless it is used in conjunction with Energy Recovery) The dioxins that are produced from the treatment can cause acid rain which destroys vegetation, wildlife, rivers, soils and even architecture Strict Legislation makes Incineration difficult to implement Not a total waste disposal method (still ash left over)

Incineration produces ash, mountains of it and it is not harmless stuff like you get from a fire grate at home. Household rubbish is laced with horrors, insecticides, cleaning fluids, bleach dyestuffs, batteries, fluorescent tubes, televisions, computer screens, keyboards, lead solder, wood treatments, PVC. Burning them releases heavy metal and toxic chemicals that collect and become concentrated in ash. Releasing all this into the atmosphere could be regarded as chemical warfare, Richard Girling, 2002. Friends of the Earth have set out the drawbacks of incineration as follows: 1. Encourages more waste Incinerators need a minimum of rubbish to operate. To meet demand, local authorities are abandoning recycling and waste reduction plans.

2. Uses up energy Even incinerators that generate electricity aren't an energy saving option. Recycling saves far more energy because it means making less new things from raw materials. 3. Causes pollution Smoke, gases and ash from incinerators can contain harmful dioxins which are a cause of cancer. (Taken from the Friends of the Earth website http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/issues/reduce_reuse_recycle/index.html)

It can be argued that more modern incinerators produce less emissions than traditional incinerators, however these are more expensive and have to meet strict EU standards (even higher than those of coal stations which produce our electricity). Within EU policies incineration is fourth and fifth choice in the hierarchy of waste strategies: Waste Reduction Reuse products Recycling Incinertation with energy recovery Incineration without energy recovery

In Northern Ireland there are currently very few incinerators which make use of any Energy Recovery method.

Incineration with Energy Recovery Waste is burnt as usual in an incinerator; however the heat and gas that is emitted from the furnace is used to power an electric generator, however even the most technologically advanced incinerator can only recover a small fraction of what was burnt in the first instance. It is also known as Thermal Treatment. However when Mr. Eamon Timoney of Fehily Fimoney, Consultants was asked what the difference was between Incineration and Thermal Ttreatment was, he replied it was, only PR. The waste strategy that Belfast city council proposed in 1993 stated that: Beyond 2000, incineration with energy recovery becomes a viable option, at this phase as long term landfill options are potentially unavailable. Planning Policy Statement 11 (PPS11) sets out the planning policies that the DOE will take into account in assessing the proposal of a waste management technique. On the issue of incinerators with energy recovery, the paper expects:

To maximise energy recovery and provide electricity, as well as heat in the form of hot water to surrounding properties (DOE, 2001) There are two techniques that involve incineration with energy recovery; Pyrolysis and Thermal Treatment. These two techniques are related closely. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of waste material at high temperatures without the presence of gases. This produces combustible gases (methane, hydrocarbons hydrogen and carbon monoxide), liquids and solid residues. Thermal decomposition differs slightly in that there is a limited amount of oxygen or air involved in the process. The gas that is produced can be used in boilers or cleaned and used to power turbines or generators. However these techniques are still not perfected and many of the environmental concerns that the world has about incineration remain with energy recovery techniques. Other disadvantages have been identified in PPS11: Large facilities are likely to be conspicuous because of the necessary size of the chimney stack and building. They normally generate substantial heavy goods vehicle movements (DOE, 2001),

Reuse and Recycling Reuse is a form of recycling. The goods e.g. bottles, are reduced into a raw material and used to make a new product. Recycling is the collection of waste and reuse of this to make a new product. As an alternative it is clear that reuse and recycling are the first choice methods of waste management. Most products that are sent to landfill sites can be recycled. In recent years there has been a significant movement toward reuse and recycling (and incineration with energy recovery) in Northern Ireland. The Department of the Environment has concluded the following: The Department is committed to ensuring that an integrated regional network of facilities is available for waste recycling, recover and disposal in Northern Ireland, and to ensure that these facilities are planned, designed and operated to provide a high level of protection for the environment and public health. Regional co-operation will play a central role in delivering this network of facilities, meeting recycling targets and recovery target, and ensuring that waste is managed at an acceptable cost to the community (Department of the Environment, 2000) Advantages of Recycling and Reuse Less energy consumption therefore reducing the environmental impact (especially with regard to greenhouse gases) Reduction in overall use of materials Extends the life of materials

Cost effective (recycled products can be cheaper than buying a brand new product

Disadvantages of Recycling and Reuse Extended material life comes at cost as the material derived from it is usually of a poorer quality, e.g. paper fibres are shortened in the recycling making it of less use in the production of high grade paper. Materials can become contaminated and thus unsuitable for recycling Difficulty in implementation Requires an effort from the public and not everyone will be willing to make this effort Sceptics have argued that recycling can be wasteful recycled products are less marketable and companies may wish to use new materials

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International Symbol for Recycling Reuse and recycling are the preferred method of waste management throughout the world; however it is still an incomplete method of management as there will still be a need for Landfill and even Incineration.

Recycling in Northern Ireland Recycling in Northern Ireland has only recently come to the forefront especially with the closure plan of the North Foreshore Landfill Site. Belfast city council have initiated a multi-bin collection system. This system means that households have a blue recycling bin (for any products that can be recycled, such as plastic bottles and cardboard), a brown bin (for organic waste such as grass cuttings) and the normal black bin for products that cannot be recycled. The black bins are collected on one specific day a fortnight and the two recycling bins are collected on the same day the following week (again every fortnight). The Belfast city council have reported that over 33,000 households in Belfast are using the multibin collection system and that these households are recycling 50% of their household waste. As a result Northern Irelands overall recycling rate has increased to over 17%. However, all homes in the Belfast area have not received their recycling bins (particularly student areas of the city)

and as a result these figures are not as high as they could and should be. The council have predicted that the whole of Belfast will have received a blue and brown bin by mid 2006. The council has also implemented a kerbie box scheme near to city centre areas. These are used by over 25,000 households to recycle their waste. Within the city councils City Matters publication, which is released every season and delivered to every home in Belfast, the council have documented some tips on recycling, e.g. passing on unwanted Christmas gifts to charity shops, reusing shopping bags or crushing aluminium tins that are to be recycled. Although the multi bin system has been effective in urban areas, in rural areas it has yet to be implemented effectively everywhere. Huge amounts of capital would have to be made available to rural area councils in order for them to implement an effective recycling scheme. Recycling is up but still much to do, headline from News Letter, Friday, November 25, 2005. On November 25th the News Letter reported that Northern Ireland is recycling almost a fifth of its waste and that Northern Ireland recycling rate is growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the UK. However the article also reported that Northern Ireland still lags behind the UK average of 23% and the best countries in Europe who have a 36% rate. Ms Jennie Price, Chief executive of the Waste and Resources Action Programme, has stated that this improvement has meant the steepest drop in Landfill use throughout the UK. There have also been suggestions for an all-island paper mill as Northern Ireland on its own could not sustain such a project. Waste management is fast becoming one of the most limiting factors to our social well-being and economic development, because waste production has such an impact on our natural resources, environment and quality of life, Lord Rooker, Northern Ireland Environment Minister, 2005.

Composting Composting is a form of recycling that involves the decomposition of green organics from household and garden waste within a compost bin or heap. The material is broken down naturally by micro-organisms into humus (compost worms can also be used to convert vegetable matter into worm castings). These processes help to conserve resources and reduce environmental harm as well as saving Landfill space which is an important issue especially within Belfast (closure of Landfill sit at Dargan Road).

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