April 5th, 2013:

http://www.burnabynow.com/technology/Process+worse+than+coal+burning/8199903/story.html

Study on Burnaby facility says waste incineration not just bad for air quality, but also impacts lower-income residents disproportionally

By Stefania Seccia, Burnaby NowApril 5, 2013

Burnaby’s waste-to-energy incinerator should not be expanded as it creates a demand for more waste and emits a substantial amount of greenhouse gases, according to a new study.

Closing the Loop: Reducing Greenhouse Emissions Through Zero Waste in B.C. is a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Wilderness Committee, which came out last week.

The closed-loop model takes a zero-waste management approach where products, such as appliances, are repaired and reused for as long as possible. Then the items are broken down into parts to be used in new products, or recycled.

Currently, Metro Vancouver incinerates its waste in Burnaby. The study states it is not only an environmental concern, but in many cases is also a social one – as low-income households live in close proximity to the incinerators, “with adverse impacts on health.”

“Incineration has appeal among policymakers because it gives the perception of making waste disappear, and can produce heat and electricity for other economic uses,” the report states. “This view is deceptive: incineration may well destroy recognizable items, but not their material basis.”

Waste never truly disappears, but turns into a new form such as ash, gas, heavy metals and toxic compounds from being burned.

B.C.’s major incinerator in Burnaby processes approximately 280,000 tonnes of waste every year and official gas emissions in 2010 was a total of about 84,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

“While Metro Vancouver has been actively promoting the idea of zero waste . its recently approved Solid Waste Management Plan puts high priority on new incineration capacity on the grounds that it diverts material waste from landfills and can generate electricity,” the report states.

Metro Vancouver’s proposed waste-to-energy facility is still in its planning stages, but is projected to handle up to 370,000 tonnes of waste per year.

“This would more than double incineration emissions,” the report states. “Over time, this investment could undermine zero-waste goals, as waste will be needed as a feedstock to power the facility for several decades.”

The report also points out that if there was a decrease in waste flow, which would normally be positive, it could lead to energy shortages.

The dependence on burning waste to create energy generates higher greenhouse gas emissions than burning natural gas, according to the report, and close to that of burning coal, “the dirtiest of fossil fuels.”

“However, if all emissions (including combustion of organic materials) are counted, incineration is worse than any fossil fuel generation, including coal,” states the report.

Another key concern with new incinerators is how they divert resources, such as funding and staff time, from otherwise seeking out alternative waste reduction activities.

“This significant opportunity cost is often ignored,” the report adds.

The study’s recommendations include the integration of greenhouse gas emissions into waste management planning, not expanding incineration capacity, requiring province-wide composting, phasing out single-use products and packaging, and banning or tightly regulating toxic or non-recyclable materials.

Marc Lee, the lead author of the study, estimates that B.C. could reduce emissions by five million tonnes, if it switches to a more aggressive reduction and recycling system by 2020.

“Zero waste means that we proactively reduce the volume of materials entering the economy in the first place, while supporting a high quality of life for consumers,” Lee states. “A good model is beer bottles, which are reused about 15 times before they are recycled due to deposit-and-return systems.”

The report was primarily funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, with support from Vancity, the Vancouver Foundation and the Pacific Institute on Climate Solutions.

It is part of the Climate Justice Project, which is a partnership between the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

For more information, visit www.pol icyalternatives.ca.

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http://www.surreyleader.com/news/201079671.html

By Jeff Nagel – Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: April 02, 2013 9:00 AM
Updated: April 02, 2013 10:19 AM

A new report urges Metro Vancouver not to build any new waste-to-energy plants and that its existing garbage incinerator in Burnaby be phased out.

Those are among the recommendations in a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Its paper titled “Closing the Loop” examines solid waste policy through the prism of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and encouraging green industries.

Author Marc Lee takes aim in part at Metro Vancouver’s advancing strategy of building a new waste-to-energy plant to consume 370,000 tonnes of garbage by 2018, ending the region’s use of the Cache Creek regional landfill.

The Burnaby incinerator, which burns 280,000 tonnes of waste per year, is a heavy carbon emitter even using disputed official estimates, according to the report, making it a considerably worse source of electricity than burning natural gas.

“Incineration has adverse consequences for health and GHG emissions, and requires a steady stream of waste that is inconsistent with zero waste objectives,” the report said.

In particular, it notes plastics and paper – key materials that should be diverted for recycling – contribute the most energy when burned.

“Programs that succeed in reducing waste could, perversely, be a challenge for incinerators needing to run at high enough temperatures to reduce the formation of toxic compounds.”

From a climate change perspective, it said, landfilling plastics and wood products would be preferable to incineration, because it would be a form of carbon storage, even though other strategies to reduce, reuse and recycle would be better.

Incineration doesn’t make garbage disappear, it said, noting at least 22 per cent is typically reduced to ash that still must be landfilled, while heavy metals and other toxins can escape.

“Even if energy is produced from incineration, it is uneconomic energy as it destroys useful materials that are costly to replace from virgin sources.”

The report also urges province-wide composting and a phase-out of single-use products and packaging.

Materials that are toxic or non-recyclable should be either banned or tightly regulated.

It also says B.C. needs to develop green manufacturing or reprocessing industries, but admits it will be challenging.

Public investments will be needed, it says, to support a shift away from landfills and incinerators in favour of waste reduction, reuse, repair and maintenance, and finally recycling and composting.

No estimate is provided of the public cost, but the report argues fees to landfill or incinerate garbage should be steadily increased to create an advantage for diversion.

It also notes much of what’s considered recycling is really “down-cycling” – degrading something like high-quality plastic to lower-grade uses like plastic wood.

The study admits its ultimate “closed loop” vision of a low-waste society where appliances, for example, are repaired and reused for far longer than today is at odds  with an open economy that freely allows imports and exports, as well as consumers’ penchant for quickly discarding tech gadgets in favour of new models.

“Meaningful progress will be difficult,” it said, but argued changes made now will be “much less painful than if we wait for nature to impose its own limits tomorrow.”

Nineteen firms are in the running to build a new waste-to-energy plant for Metro Vancouver.

Over the next two years the regional district is to determine a preferred technology and identify potential sites.

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