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Wait, isn't it better to actually recycle this stuff, rather than just burn it? By burning it aren't we forever losing access to that physical matter by just tu
by Wintamute 14y ago
Wait, isn't it better to actually recycle this stuff, rather than just burn it? By burning it aren't we forever losing access to that physical matter by just turning it into heat radiation? What if we need it later?
EDIT: It sounds like the Swedes mainly burn the organic waste, and recycle what can be recycled. If that is the case, fair enough. Would have liked to see discussion about this in the article, seems fairly key.
- maxerickson 14y agoThe energy released is stored in the chemical bonds of the material being burned. Matter is neither created nor destroyed in the process. Some of it "goes up in smoke", but we can use plants to capture those things back out of the air (either the green things or energy intensive industrial ones) .
- Wintamute 14y agoYeah, mainly correct but a small part of the matter is lost. That part which escapes from the system into space as IR radiation is practically speaking ever beyond our grasp. Its the Law of Conservation of matter/energy.
- maxerickson 14y agoHuman energy utilization is a fraction of a fraction of the solar energy that moves in and out of the earth system. Heat lost from burning is not something worth worrying about right now.
- INTPenis 14y agoYou are correct in your assumption. However it's silly to say that we need to import trash. I've lived in cities like Helsingborg, Landskrona and Malmö, in several different apartments, and only ONCE have I had the facilities to dispose of organic waste separately. So I think it's much better to do a national campaign and force landlords to implement organic waste disposal, hand out those brown paper bags some get from their landlord, before we decide to start importing trash.