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Why can't the US develop domestic waste-processing capabilities? We could be generating power from incineration plants.

by tomc1985 7y ago

pkaye 7y ago
It was cheaper to send it overseas rather than to invest in alternative technologies. So if any company tries to develop some technology, they might not get funding. Imagine if gasoline was 10x cheaper how much it would slow down development of electric cars.
Scoundreller 7y ago
Pollution control standards make incineration expensive. It’s not like the US is going to run out of land for landfills.
- tomc1985 7y ago
  Yes but can't you have a closed system that compacts the exhaust into solid matter?
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    For some things (like SO2), yes. But not easy for CO2.
    - xyzzyz 7y ago
      Yeah, it's much easier and cheaper to have someone else emit all of it (and most likely more than we would have) on your behalf on the other side of the world. Locally it wouldn't fly, because people don't like the idea of just burning it and releasing all of the pollutants, but if you ship it in the container that would otherwise go empty anyway, and then they do it for you, it's okay.
      - Scoundreller 7y ago
        I’m assuming that developing country industry are buying the plastics waste for re-processing, not direct burning. It’s re-processed there because it’s economically viable to do the sorting/cleaning that wouldn’t be with higher wages. I don’t believe there’s wide-scale shipping of straight garbage trans-continentally, that’s cheaper to process locally/regionally.
  - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
    It's hard to convince the upscale NIMBY crowd that the .00-whatever parts per billion of nasty stuff that get past the filter system of a modern incinerator plant isn't gonna give everyone cancer and make the frogs bi-curious. Then you have to figure out what to do with the waste and you'll face the same problem.
    - tomc1985 7y ago
      If its a closed system there are no emitters. Just solid waste, to be trucked off to a landfill or something
Baeocystin 7y ago
You could (at great expense) build an incineration plant that scrubbed its exhaust gasses of most pollutants, but CO2 remains the big issue. It is just plain better to bury it in properly-designed landfills.
CaptainCook 7y ago
A company in Utah has a process for turning plastics of various grades into diesel fuel. Salt Lake City, Boise, and it looks like Phoenix now as well are working with them to recycle plastics. [Edit: The company is called Renewlogy] https://kjzz.org/content/859146/phoenix-convert-plastic-waste-fuel https://kjzz.org/content/859146/phoenix-convert-plastic-wast... "The City of Phoenix announced Wednesday it will soon begin converting certain plastic waste into liquid fuel. The fifth most populous city in the country has partnered with a waste management company and Renewlogy, a technology firm, to convert plastics 3-7 into fuel. Plastic items with a number between 3 and 7 in the recycling symbol are considered “low-value” and are expensive to recycle. The city expects the project to divert 10 tons of plastic waste from landfills every day, producing 60 barrels of liquid fuel." Other articles: https://inhabitat.com/renewlogy-turns-low-grade-plastic-into-usable-fuels/ https://inhabitat.com/renewlogy-turns-low-grade-plastic-into... https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900014582/utah-based-renewlogy-offers-solution-to-plastic-waste-problem.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900014582/utah-based-ren...
colechristensen 7y ago
To be useful people have to actually sort and clean their recyclables. For example, plastic bottle caps and rings on soda, milk, etc. are a different plastic than the rest of the container and must be removed as they are not recyclable. Many people don't understand recycling at all and fill it with garbage.

Why can't the US develop domestic waste-processing capabilities? We could be generating power from incineration plants.

It was cheaper to send it overseas rather than to invest in alternative technologies. So if any company tries to develop some technology, they might not get funding. Imagine if gasoline was 10x cheaper how much it would slow down development of electric cars.

Scoundreller 7y ago

Pollution control standards make incineration expensive. It’s not like the US is going to run out of land for landfills.

tomc1985 7y ago
Yes but can't you have a closed system that compacts the exhaust into solid matter?
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  For some things (like SO2), yes. But not easy for CO2.
  - xyzzyz 7y ago
    Yeah, it's much easier and cheaper to have someone else emit all of it (and most likely more than we would have) on your behalf on the other side of the world. Locally it wouldn't fly, because people don't like the idea of just burning it and releasing all of the pollutants, but if you ship it in the container that would otherwise go empty anyway, and then they do it for you, it's okay.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      I’m assuming that developing country industry are buying the plastics waste for re-processing, not direct burning. It’s re-processed there because it’s economically viable to do the sorting/cleaning that wouldn’t be with higher wages. I don’t believe there’s wide-scale shipping of straight garbage trans-continentally, that’s cheaper to process locally/regionally.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  It's hard to convince the upscale NIMBY crowd that the .00-whatever parts per billion of nasty stuff that get past the filter system of a modern incinerator plant isn't gonna give everyone cancer and make the frogs bi-curious. Then you have to figure out what to do with the waste and you'll face the same problem.
  - tomc1985 7y ago
    If its a closed system there are no emitters. Just solid waste, to be trucked off to a landfill or something

Baeocystin 7y ago

You could (at great expense) build an incineration plant that scrubbed its exhaust gasses of most pollutants, but CO2 remains the big issue. It is just plain better to bury it in properly-designed landfills.

CaptainCook 7y ago

A company in Utah has a process for turning plastics of various grades into diesel fuel. Salt Lake City, Boise, and it looks like Phoenix now as well are working with them to recycle plastics. [Edit: The company is called Renewlogy] https://kjzz.org/content/859146/phoenix-convert-plastic-waste-fuel https://kjzz.org/content/859146/phoenix-convert-plastic-wast... "The City of Phoenix announced Wednesday it will soon begin converting certain plastic waste into liquid fuel. The fifth most populous city in the country has partnered with a waste management company and Renewlogy, a technology firm, to convert plastics 3-7 into fuel. Plastic items with a number between 3 and 7 in the recycling symbol are considered “low-value” and are expensive to recycle. The city expects the project to divert 10 tons of plastic waste from landfills every day, producing 60 barrels of liquid fuel." Other articles: https://inhabitat.com/renewlogy-turns-low-grade-plastic-into-usable-fuels/ https://inhabitat.com/renewlogy-turns-low-grade-plastic-into... https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900014582/utah-based-renewlogy-offers-solution-to-plastic-waste-problem.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900014582/utah-based-ren...

colechristensen 7y ago

To be useful people have to actually sort and clean their recyclables. For example, plastic bottle caps and rings on soda, milk, etc. are a different plastic than the rest of the container and must be removed as they are not recyclable. Many people don't understand recycling at all and fill it with garbage.