While disposing of waste from our daily human existence continues to be a challenge, the negative aspects of landfill sites can be offset by the gains of turning waste into energy. This is if landfill sites are positioned as far away as possible from any established or planned residential areas.
Many South African cities are now looking into alternative and less polluting ways of producing energy, especially in view of climate change concerns and recent catastrophic weather patterns, droughts and floods that affect urban residential, sports and business amenities provided by earlier epochs of town planning.
If such opportunities are ignored, or left to the next generation, our ever-expanding garbage dumps, more politely referred to as landfills, could be a worsening cause of air pollution, stench, water contamination and an increasing disease hazard by the day.
Not to mention a social embarrassment for any town’s image and tourism appeal, and its impact on the region’s economic development and subsequent devaluation of residential property
But if one looks this ever-increasing problem straight in the eye the hazards and inconveniences can be countered by a more positive scenario: transforming the offending waste through a waste-to-energy process into bio-gas.
More energy, less air pollution, more jobs
Biogas is a resource that cannot only contribute towards powering the city, but can also serve as an alternative energy source, one that can eventually give back to the national grid. This, while also earning carbon credits through the Carbon Offset Administration System by reducing specified amounts of greenhouse gas that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere.
And by demanding less from the national grid these supplementary power resources can gradually help reduce the need for fossil-fuel mining and its effects on underground stability as well as cut down on the air pollution that fossil fuels contribute to global warming.
Moreover, in South Africa’s case the benefits of reducing at least some of our dependence on the rather rollercoaster roll-outs from the country’s national supplier. Imagine avoiding some of the load-shedding stress caused to businesses and human life, especially of newborns, the physically vulnerable and the elderly.
And then there is less air pollution. Most waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste and can co-exist with recycling. They are also not hazardous. waste-to-energy plants cause less air pollution than coal plants and release considerably less carbon and methane into the air than leaving the waste to decay naturally in landfills.
An issue that affects community relationships is the increase in road traffic by rubbish trucks that transport municipal waste to landfills or to the waste-to-energy facility. Because of this, most plants are located in industrial areas.
An added bonus to the economy from waste conversion is that of job creation.
According to the practical guide Sustainable Energy Solutions for South African Local Government, job creation from landfill to biogas projects show the highest employment potential across a broad range of technologies in South Africa. Globally, waste is already starting to be looked at as a planetary investment commodity – taking recycling to the ultimate end benefits. Starting in the Western Cape, South Africa is wasting no time to follow suit..Read the second instalment on the topic of waste-to-energy in next week’s edition of Standard.
