Waste Not, Want Not . . .
Susie Kearley finds out that one person’s trash is another’s treasure . . .
How many different, creative ways can you think of to reuse your copy of the “Friend”? Send us your ideas – and pictures – and we’ll print the best suggestions in Between Friends!
IN the UK, households throw away over 22.2 million tonnes of waste in a year. That’s the weight of around 1.75 million double decker buses! From small changes at home to modern plants that convert otherwise unusable waste into energy, everyone can play a part in helping to use our planet’s resources more sustainably.
We’ve all heard the mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle”, and the best thing is to reduce the amount of waste we create in the first place.
Next best is reuse – repairing, exchanging and finding new purposes for things we no longer need.
Recycling comes next; reclaiming the useable materials from something that has reached the end of its useful life, such as recovering metals from cans and gadgets or melting glass bottles to make new glass.
However, there comes a point where there’s no more reuse or recycling to be done. There’s still one stage left before waste simply has to be dumped in landfill, though, and that’s to recover some of the energy left in the material in an energy-from-waste plant.
Greatmoor Energy from Waste facility in Buckinghamshire opened in June 2016 and now takes all of Buckinghamshire’s non-recyclable household waste.
The rubbish is burned in a huge furnace, which reaches 850 degrees centigrade, and generates electricity. The high temperature burns off carbon monoxide, so the gas doesn’t enter the atmosphere.
Other toxic gases produced by the rubbish-burning process are neutralised through a three-step chemical process, designed to make emissions from the plant as clean as possible. In the end, what comes out of the chimney is 99.9% water vapour.
Even the ash will, it’s hoped, eventually be used to make material for road construction and kerbstones.
The facility will save the council approximately £150 million over 30 years, reducing the cost of waste disposal, creating jobs and generating 22MW of electricity. That’s enough electricity to power 36,000 homes.
Paula Alvarez is the facility’s Environmental Manager.
“I’m a keen recycler,” Paula says. “I studied environmental sciences at university and I’ve always been interested in protecting the environment. I’m also passionate about technology, so I love learning about innovations within the waste industry.
“At work I give advice to make sure we meet our environmental commitments and that environmental matters are at the heart of our operation.
“My daily routine involves checking the energy from waste emissions, organising routine testing, and checking compliance. I also prepare talks and check there are no environmental issues around the site.
“Recycling is not an option, it’s a necessity. I hope that energy from waste is just the beginning of something great, so we can look after the environment a little bit better every year.” ■
Recycle Week 2017 runs from Monday, September 25 until Sunday, October 1. Find out more at www.recyclenow.com.