Ottawa can do better on garbage disposal
Ottawa currently disposes of its garbage in a way that any peasant from the Middle Ages would instantly recognize: It throws it into a hole in the ground. While this may have been an acceptable practice 500 years ago, it is hardly appropriate for modern cities today. Moreover, it will not be too long before the Trail Road dump is full, and some other unfortunate part of Ottawa’s hinterland will be designated as our next hole to be filled. It is time that Ottawa was dragged, kicking and screaming if need be, into the 21st century.
The concept of garbage incineration tends to conjure up visions of vast, smoke-belching heaps of smouldering rubbish, like gigantic autumn bonfires. Fortunately, this concept is as out-of-date as are horse-drawn carriages. Modern garbage incinerators not only dispose of garbage without any external pollution whatsoever, they also generate electricity and recycle metals.
The Durham York Energy Centre, just east of Toronto, has been in operation since 2015, and after the usual Chicken Little sky-is-falling prognostications by concerned citizens, the centre has been granted the unusual compliment of being largely forgotten by all and sundry. It quietly does its job and doesn’t annoy anyone.
One of the supposed drawbacks of garbage incineration is that it produces carbon dioxide, that dreaded greenhouse gas. While it certainly does this, incineration doesn’t produce methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas. Landfills, on the other hand, produce copious amounts of methane. While it is possible to pipe off some of this, the bulk of it goes straight into the atmosphere. In terms of greenhouse gases, landfills are probably worse than incinerators.
Garbage disposal is something that should be considered in the municipal election Oct. 22. The only candidate I am aware of who is taking this seriously is David Brown, running for councillor in Rideau- Goulbourn, and in whose ward the Trail Road dump is located. As an ardent supporter of modern incineration processes, David deserves to be heard. Roger Graves. North Gower