Incineration versus Zero Waste
St. Paul, MN, Nov 14, 2007
Dr Paul Connett
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
St Lawrence University, Canton, NY
Paul@FluorideALERT.org
www.FluorideALERT.org
Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Leaflet from Xcel Energy
Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon
dioxide
Sulfur NOx
dioxide
PM
Leaflet from Xcel Energy
Mercury
Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Natural
Gas
Carbon
dioxide
Sulfur NOx
dioxide
PM
1192
0.005 1.2
0.07
Leaflet from Xcel Energy
Mercury
1 x 10-8
Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon
dioxide
Sulfur NOx
dioxide
PM
Natural
Gas
1192
0.005 1.2
0.07
RDF
5870
1.0
0.22 6923 x 10-8
9.6
Leaflet from Xcel Energy
Mercury
1 x 10-8
Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon
dioxide
Sulfur NOx
dioxide
PM
Natural
Gas
1192
0.005 1.2
0.07
RDF
5870
1.0
9.6
0.22 6923 x 10-8
Biomass 3910
0.6
8.1
1.36 1316 x 10-8
Leaflet from Xcel Energy
Mercury
1 x 10-8
ECONOMIC COSTS




Natural Gas Burner for ROCK-TENN
= $ 11.2 million
RDF/biomass Burner
$300 - $500 million ?????
OUTLINE





1. Waste Management & the Big
Picture
2. The arguments against incineration
3. Incineration air emissions
4. Incineration & dioxins
5. The alternative to landfills and
incinerators
1. Waste Management
&
the Big Picture
We are living on this planet as if we
had another one to go to
We cannot run a throwaway society
on a finite planet
We are robbing our own children and
grandchildren
This is colonialism in time!
Landfills BURY the evidence
Incinerators BURN the evidence
We need to face the real problem…
Our task is to fight the
throwaway ethic &
over-consumption
Not only is
over-consumption
giving us a local waste crisis
but also…
… a Global crisis
Global warming is the
symptom, what is the
cause?
The Global Crisis:
Since the Industrial
Revolution we have
imposed a linear society on
a planet that functions in
circles
A LINEAR SOCIETY
A LINEAR SOCIETY
Extraction
A LINEAR SOCIETY
Extraction
Production
A LINEAR SOCIETY
Extraction
Production Consumption
A LINEAR SOCIETY
Extraction
Production Consumption
Waste
Advertising/TV
Extraction
Production Consumption
Waste
Over-advertising
produces
Over-consumption
By the time a high school
student leaves school, he or she
will have watched over
350,000 TV commercials.
Paul Hawken
The Ecology of Commerce.
Myth versus Reality




THE MYTH:
The more you consume the happier
you become
THE REALITY:
The more you consume the fatter you
become!
Modern man!
“The world has enough
for everyone’s need
but not for everyone’s
greed”
Mahatma Gandhi
A LINEAR SOCIETY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
Production of
Manufactured
items
Consumption
Waste
A LINEAR SOCIETY
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Production of
Manufactured
items
Consumption
Waste
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Production of
Manufactured
items
Consumption
Waste
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
INCINERATION & LANDFILLS
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
RECYCLING OF MATERIALS
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
REUSE OF OBJECTS
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
COMPOSTING
ENERGY
Extraction of
Virgin
Materials
ENERGY
Production of
Manufactured
items
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Solid waste
Air pollution
Water pollution
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Consumption
Discarded
Materials
Waste Management Options and
Climate Change. AEA 2002

“Overall, source segregation of MSW,
followed by recycling (for paper,
metals, textiles and plastics) and
composting/AD (for putrescible
wastes) gives the lowest net flux of
greenhouse gases compared to other
forms of treatment of bulk MSW”
Kg Greenhouse gas/tonne Municipal
Waste
Riciclaggio e compostaggio
-461
Trattamento MeccanicoBiologico e stoccaggio
-366
Termovalorizzazione
-10
Waste Management Options and Climate Change. AEA 2002
Slide from Attilio Tornavacca
Incineration is a waste of energy!


3-4 times more energy can be saved by a
combination of reuse, recycling and
composting compared to incineration
Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Morris,
jeff.morris@zerowaste.com
Energy Comparison: Recycling versus
incineration (ICF consulting, 2005)
material
Energy
savings from
recycling
GJ/tonne
Energy output
from
incineration
GJ/tonne
Energy savings
recycling
versus
incineration
Newsprint
Fine paper
Cardboard
6.33
15.87
8.56
2.62
2.23
2.31
2.4
7.1
3.7
Other paper
9.49
2.25
4.2
6.30
3.22
4.76
10.2
26.4
10.9
HDPE
PET
64.27
85.16
Other plastic 52.09
2. Arguments against
incinerators






They generate a toxic ash which is poorly
handled
They generate toxic air emissions, which are
poorly monitored
They are extremely expensive and a poor
investment for our children.
They are very unpopular with the public and
pushed into communities undemocratically
Incineration is not sustainable
There are better alternatives which are
Incineration is extremely
unpopular
 In
the US over 300 incinerator
proposals defeated since 1985
 US has not permitted a new
trash incinerator since 1995.
Incineration is a poor
investment
•
•
Most of the money spent on
incinerators goes into complicated
machinery and leaves the community,
whereas
The money spent on the alternatives
goes into jobs and stays in the
community.
Think of an incinerator as
three boxes
Think of an incinerator as
three boxes
1.
The Furnace which
Converts 100’s of
Tons of trash into
Trillions of tiny
particles
and gases.
Think of an incinerator as
three boxes
1.
The Furnace which
Converts 100’s of
Tons of trash into
Trillions of tiny
particles
and gases.
2.
The Air Pollution
control devices
Which attempt to
capture the tiny
particles and some
of the gases
Think of an incinerator as
three boxes
1.
The Furnace which
Converts 100’s of
Tons of trash into
Trillions of tiny
particles
and gases.
2.
The Air Pollution
control devices
Which attempt to
capture the tiny
particles and some
of the gases
3.
A depository for
the tiny particles
captured
(the fly ash)
and
the bottom ash
For every three tons of trash you get about one ton of ash
ELECTRICITY
TURBINE
CHUTE
WET SCRUBBER
SECONDARY STEAM
CHAMBER
TEMP
BOILER < 200oC
FABRIC
FILTER
DE-NOX
SEMIDRY
SCRUBBER
Ca(OH) 2 SUSPENSION
GRATES
TRASH
BOTTOM ASH
ACTIVATED
CHARCOAL
AMMONIA
INJECTION
FLY ASH
Ash management






In Germany & Switzerland fly ash put into nylon
bags and placed in salt mines
In Japan some incinerators vitrify the ash
In the Netherlands they put the fly ash into asphalt
and the bottom ash into road bed
In Denmark…
They send all the ash to Norway
In the US the EPA allows the bottom ash and fly
ash to be mixed together before testing
3. Incineration air
emissions
AIR EMISSIONS
CO2 + H2O
ACID GASES:
HCI, HF, SO2
NOx
TOXIC METALS:
Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Cr etc
NEW COMPOUNDS:
PCB’s
PCDDs (DIOXINS)
PCDFs (FURANS)
ETC
NANO
PARTICLES
Catalytic oxidizers
Brominated/chlorinated
dioxins and furans
Polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons
Chlorinated
hydrocarbons
Incineration is not
sustainable
It wastes material resources
It wastes energy
It wastes the opportunity to fight global
warming and the many other impacts
of extracting and processing virgin
materials
Incineration &
nanoparticles




Both morbidity and mortality in large cities
can be related to particulate matter (PM)
(from traffic, power stations and industry)
As the particles get smaller the relationship
gets stronger
A modern incinerator converts hundreds or
thousands of tons of trash each day into
trillions of nanoparticles
These nanoparticles are the most dangerous
of any combustion source
Incineration &
nanoparticles





Nanoparticles from incinerators contain:
neurotoxic metals,
stabilized free radicals
thousands of newly synthesized compounds
(including PCBs, dioxins and furans).
Any toxic element used in commerce has
the potential to end up in nanoparticles
produced by incinerators
The dangers of
nanoparticles



Nanoparticles are not efficiently
captured by air pollution control
devices,
travel long distances,
penetrate deep into the lungs
Nano Pathology



Nano particles can easily cross the cell
membranes of every tissue
Including the blood brain barrier and
the nuclear membrane
Nanoparticles can carry neurotoxic
metals into the brain
Aggregati di Piombo, Bario, Cromo, Ferro e Silicio in Cervello.
www.stefanomontanari.net
Nano Pathology


Nanoparticles can carry stabilized free
radicals (which cause oxidative stress inflammation - many degenerative diseases)
into every tissue in the body
also dioxins and furans
Free Radical Attack
Aus: “Free Radicals
Randox Ltd.
4. Dioxins and
Incineration
Dioxins - major health concerns
•
•
•
•
•
Dioxins accumulate in animal fat. One liter of cows’ milk
gives the same dose of dioxin as breathing air next to
the cows for EIGHT MONTHS (Connett and Webster,
1987).
In one day a grazing cow puts as much dioxin into its
body as a human being would get in 14 years of
breathing (McLachlan, 1995)!
Dioxins steadily accumulate in human body fat. The
man cannot get rid of them BUT A woman can…
…by having a baby!
Thus the highest dose of dioxin goes to the fetus and
then to the new born infant via breastfeeding…
Dioxins interfere with fetal and
infant devlopment



Dioxins act like fat soluble hormones
Disrupt at least six different hormonal
systems: male and female sex hormones;
thyroid hormones; insulin; gastrin and
gluocorticoid.
Linda S. Birnbaum (Health Effects
Research Laboratory, US EPA)
Developmental Effects of Dioxins
Environmental Health Perspectives, 103: 8994, 1995
Effects of dioxins on thyroid
function of new born babies




H.J. Pluim et al., The Lancet, May 23, 1992.
(Volume 339, 1303)
Examined 38 new born babies, divided them into 2
groups:
Low-exposed (mothers had average 18.6 ppt
dioxins in milk fat, range 8.7 - 28)
High-exposed (mothers had average 37.5 ppt
dioxins in milk fat, range 29 - 63)
Effect of Dioxins on Neonatal Thyroid Function after
Low-exposure and High-exposure at various ages
nAt
n1
birth
week
n11weeks
nLow-
nHigh-
nP*
exposure
n(mean)
exposure
n(mean)
nT4
n122.5
n134.3
n0.071
nT4/TBG
n0.240
n0.232
n0.45
nTSH
n10.4
n11.9
n0.58
nT4
n154.5
n178.7
n0.006*
nT4/TBG
n0.291
n0.332
n0.006*
nTSH
n2.93
n2.56
n0.51
nT4
n111.1
n122.2
n0.033*
nT4/TBG
n0.220
n0.247
n0.040*
nTSH
n1.81
n2.50
n0.044*
Our Stolen Future
How Man-made Chemicals are
Threatening our Fertility,
Intelligence and Survival
Theo Colborn
John Peterson Myers
Dianne Dumanoski
1994
IQ and population
Number of Kids
With a
Specific IQ
IQ
100
IQ and population
Number of Kids
With a
Specific IQ
Mentally
handicapped
IQ
100
Very Bright
IQ and population
Number of Kids
With a
Specific IQ
Mentally
handicapped
IQ
95 100
Very Bright
WE WANT DIOXIN
OUT OF OUR BABIES!
Institute of Medicine,
2003
Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in
the Food Supply
Strategies to Decrease Exposure
July 1, 2003
Institute of Medicine, 2003

Fetuses and breastfeeding infants may be
at particular risk from exposure to dioxin
like compounds (DLCs) due to their
potential to cause adverse
neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioral, and
immune system effects in developing
systems…
Institute of Medicine, 2003


…The committee recommends that the
government place a high public health
priority on reducing DLC intakes by girls
and young women in the years well before
pregnancy is likely to occur.
(by) Substituting low-fat or skim milk, for
whole milk, (and)… foods lower in animal
fat…
WE WANT DIOXIN
OUT OF OUR FOOD!
Do not build incinerators
within 50 km of food
production - particularly
grazing animals
Promoters say that
modern incinerators have
solved the dioxin
problem, but have they?
Yang & Kim (2004). Characteristics of dioxins and
metals emission from radwaste plasma arc melter
system. Chemosphere 57: 421-428



When PVC was fed into the high-temperature melter,
a significant quantity of PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead
was emitted.
Wet scrubbing with rapid quenching, as well as a low
temperature two-step fine filtration, or both of them
together cannot effectively control the volatile metal
species and gas-phase PCDD/Fs.
The removal of PVC from the feed waste stream must
also be effective to reduce the emissions of the
PCDD/Fs, cadmium and lead species.
While modern incinerators
have reduced dioxin
emissions
there is no real
accountability
in most countries
YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM TOXIC EMISSIONS.
YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM TOXIC EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM TOXIC EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING
YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM TOXIC EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING
TOUGH
ENFORCEMENT
YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE
PUBLIC FROM TOXIC EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING
TOUGH
ENFORCEMENT
IF ANY LINK IS WEAK THE PUBLIC IS NOT PROTECTED
“Even if we made incineration safe we
would never make it sensible.
It simply does not make sense to
spend so much money destroying
resources we should be sharing with
the future.” (PC)
Incineration is not
sustainable
DIFFERENT TIMES
DIFFERENT QUESTIONS
CENTURY
21st CENTURY
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
“ How do we get rid
of our waste
efficiently with
minimum damage to
our health and the
environment ?”
“ How do we handle our
discarded resources in
ways which do not
deprive future
generations of some, if
not all, of their value ?”
20th
Incineration: Perfecting a
bad idea


Our task in the 21st Century is not to
find better ways to destroy discarded
materials
But to stop making packaging and
products that have to be destroyed!
5. The Sustainable
Alternative to landfills and
incineration
=
the ZERO WASTE 2020
strategy
Zero Waste 2020









No to incinerators
No to landfills
No to a throwaway society
Yes to a sustainable society
Zero Waste is an idealistic goal, but
Zero Waste 2020 puts it into a realistic timeframe
Zero Waste is a new direction
It’s moving from the back end of waste disposal
to the front end of resource management and industrial design
for sustainability
Waste is not a technical
problem but
a problem of
organization,
education and
industrial design
To achieve Zero Waste
We need three things:
1) INDUSTRIAL RESPONSIBILITY (at the front end)
2) COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY (at the back end)
3) GOOD LEADERSHIP (in both places)
Industrial Responsibility
1. Design for sustainability
 2. Clean production
 3. Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended Producer
Responsibilty - packaging
• The Ontario (Canada) Beer industry has
been using refillable glass bottles for 50 years
• 98% recovered
• Each bottle reused 18 times
• It saves the company money
• 2000 jobs in collection and cleaning
• No cost to municipality
Extended Producer
Responsibilty - products
XEROX CORPORATION EUROPE

Recovers copying machines from 16 different
countries
Takes them to huge warehouses in the
Netherlands, where the machines are stripped
down for parts and materials
95% of materials recovered for reuse or recycling!

This is saving Xerox $76 millions a year!!


Solid waste is the visible
face of inefficiency!
For more examples of
Industrial Responsibility



Contact Gary Liss at
gary@garyliss.com
For more information on EPR initiatives
contact Bill Sheehan at
Bill@productpolicy.org
COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY




Community responsibility begins with
Source Separation
One container for compostables
(i.e.the organic fraction)
One (or more) containers for the
recyclables
One container for the residuals
1
2
3
1
Composting
Facility
2
3
Slides from Enzo Favoino
Aerazione forzata
Aerazione Forzata
Composting Facility for
San Francisco
1
Composting
Facility
2
3
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
3
MATERIALS RECOVERY FACIILITY
at Pier 96
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
3
We have to minimize
what goes into container
3 - the residuals
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
Reuse & Repair
3
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
Reuse & Repair
& Deconstruction
3
Burlington, Vermont







Recycle North (27 employees, gross income over
$700,000) offers an excellent model of reuse,
repair, job training and deconstruction - see video.
www.recyclenorth.org
See also Urban Ore, Berkeley
Revolve, Canberra, Australia
Waste Wise, Georgetown, Ontario
EcoCycle, Boulder, Colorado
Eureka Recycling, St. Paul, MN
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
Reuse & Repair
& Deconstruction
3
Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Italy


A supermarket chain near Florence is
providing dispensers which allow
customers to refill shampoo and
detergent bottles…
Others wine, water and milk
Alcune iniziative italiane per la riduzione
•Un
pizzico di
creatività a monte
può far risparmiare
milioni a valle
Ireland


Has a 15 cent tax on plastic shopping
bags - reduced use by over 90% in
one year
80 towns in Australia have banned
plastic shopping bags completely
1
Composting
Facility
2
3
Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Materials
Recovery
Facility
Residuals
?
Reuse & Repair
& Deconstruction
The residual fraction is the key
difference between incineration and
the Zero Waste strategy




Incineration attempts to make the residuals
disappear
Zero Waste 2020 needs to make the residuals
VERY VISIBLE, because…
Residual Fraction = bad industrial design and poor
purchasing decisions
We need better industrial design, community
organization and individual responsibility to move
towards sustainability
The Key Step Forward
RESIDUAL SCREENING FACILITY
MORE
RECYCLABLES
MORE TOXICS
Operating in
Nova Scotia
DIRTY
ORGANIC
FRACTION
BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION
INTERIM LANDFILL
What we need
RESIDUAL SCREENING FACILITY
MORE
RECYCLABLES
MORE TOXICS
Operating in
Nova Scotia
DIRTY
ORGANIC
FRACTION
BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION
INTERIM LANDFILL
RESIDUAL SCREENING & RESEARCH FACILITY
MORE
RECYCLABLES
MORE TOXICS
DIRTY
ORGANIC
FRACTION
NON-TOXIC, NON-BIODEGRADABLE
FRACTION
RESEARCH
CENTER
INTERIM LANDFILL
BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION
RESIDUAL SCREENING & RESEARCH FACILITY
NON-RECYCABLE MATERIALS
Local
University
Or
Technical College
RESEARCH
CENTER
RESEARCH CENTER





Improve capture rate of reusables,
recyclables and clean compostables (Captain
Garbage - make it fun!)
Recommend waste avoidance strategies for
local businesses
Develop some local uses for some materials
Recommend better industrial designs to
industry on packaging etc
Develop alternatives to some of the toxics in
products (batteries, paint, solvents etc)
1
Composting
Facility
2
Materials
Recovery
Facility
3
Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Residual
Screening
& Reseach
Facility
Reuse & Repair
& Deconstruction
Household toxics
The Residual Screening &
Research Facility

Is the key link between Community
Responsibility and Industrial
Responsibility
Networking for Sustainability

Need a network of local research
centers linked to state, regional and
federal research institutes working on
a SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
WITH INCINERATION
WE CONVERT 3 TONS OF TRASH
into:
1 ton of ASH
That nobody wants!
WITH THE ZERO WASTE
2020 STRATEGY
WE CONVERT 3 TONS OF TRASH
into:
1 ton of compostables
1 ton of recyclables
and
1 ton of EDUCATION!
The Message to Industry:
•
If we can’t reuse it, recycle it or compost
it,
•
Industry shouldn’t be making it and
•
we shouldn’t be buying it!!!
Another three reasons why ZW
2020 is better than incineration

Jobs!
 Jobs
!!
Jobs
!!!
Nova Scotia




50% diversion in 5 years (Halifax ~ 60%)
1000 jobs created collecting and treating
discarded materials
Another 2000 jobs created in the
industries handling the collected material
Nearly all the separated materials are reused in Nova Scotia’s own industries.
Zero waste Initiatives
around the world
 www.GRRN.org
 www.ZWIA.org
 www.CRRA.org
 www.ecocycle.org
Canberra, Australia



Passed law “No Waste by 2010”
Currently over 70% diversion
Setting up a “Resource Recovery Park”
to locate all the industries which can
make products out of separated
materials
Ontario




The city of Markham (north of
Toronto) has diverted 70% from
landfill in 2 years.
Contact: Councillor Erin Shapiro
eshapero@markam.ca
www.Markham.ca
Prince Edward Island,
Canada

Whole island has door to door
collection of recyclables and
compostables
New Zealand
 Over
50% of communities
have declared a Zero Waste
strategy
San Francisco




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Population = 850,000
Very little space
50% waste diverted by 2000
63% waste diverted by 2004
75% waste diverted by 2010
(goal)
100% (or very close!) by 2020 –
Zero Waste
The “Fantastic 3”
ALL FOOD SCRAPS, YARD TRIMMINGS AND
COMPOSTABLE PAPER GO IN THE
GREEN CART
The source separated organics
go to a composting faciolity
THE COMPOST IS SOLD TO LOCAL
FARMERS
THE FOOD PRODUCED GOES BACK
TO SAN FRANCISCO
ALL BOTTLES, CANS AND
RECYCLABLE PAPER GO IN THE
BLUE CART
MATERIALS RECOVERY FACIILITY
at Pier 96
Italy


Italy has pioneered new “door to
door” collection systems to maximize
the collection of clean organic material
Important work done by Enzo Favorino
from the Agricultural School in the
Parco Monza, near Milan.
Comunità in Lazio che hanno
riciclato più del 50% dei rifiuti
attraverso il sistema di raccolta
porta-a-porta in un solo anno!
Comune
Populazione
% rifiuto
Sonnino
Sermoneta
Lenola
Monterosi
Bassiano
Castelforte
7,154
7,000
4,200
3,029
1,670
4,700
54%
64%
65%
54%
50%
52%
differenziato
Italy

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
Over 600 communities in Italy are
achieving over 50% diversion using
“door to door” collection systems
In the North, Novara - (population =
100,000) at 70% diversion in 18
months
In the South, Near Salerno 4
communities over 70%
Italy

The Treviso region - 22 communities
averaging 76% diversion
RISULTATI QUANTITATIVI
AUMENTO % RACCOLTA DIFFERENZIATA
RISULTATI QUANTITATIVI
AUMENTO % RACCOLTA DIFFERENZIATA
DIFFERENZIATA COSTA DI PIU?
ANDAMENTO DEI COSTI DI GESTIONE OPERATIVA
CON E SENZA RACCOLTA DIFFERENZIATA
€ 100,00
€ 91,64
€ 90,00
€ 80,00
€ 73,92
€ 67,68
€/ab
€ 70,00
€ 60,58
€ 65,69
€ 60,00
€ 50,00
€ 40,00
€ 30,00
1997
Costi di gestione senza raccolta differenziata
Costi di gestione con raccolta differenziata
1998
1999
2000
2001
ANNO
2002
2003
2004
2005
La gestione dei rifiuti
nei Comuni del Consorzio Priula
Paolo Contò
Consorzio Intercomunale Priula - Villorba (TV)
consorzio@priula.it
VIDEOS
On the Road to Zero Waste:
Part
Part
Part
Part
1:
2:
3:
4:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Burlington, Vermont, US
Canberra, Australia
San Francisco
ZERO WASTE: Idealistic Dream or Realistic Goal?
GOOD LEADERSHIP
We need leaders with
Big vision
imagination
and …
WHO ARE NOT BORING!
HUMAN “BORINGS”

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
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Have no imagination
have no vision
have no sense of humor
are obsessively tidy
confuse being clever with being wise
have more faith in machines than people
believe science and technology can fix every
problem
believe man is the centre of the universe
And a woman’s place is in the kitchen!
Boring experts think
with the wrong end of
their bodies !
A BACK END THINKER…
1. A CUP
2. A BUCKET
3. A FOOT PUMP
4. AN ELECTRIC PUMP
A FRONT END THINKER…
The waste problem



Is too important to be left to “waste
experts”
We need all sectors involved if we are
to move towards a sustainable society
As far as sustainability is concerned
the waste problem is a fabulous place
to start
Sustainable
agriculture
Industrial
Design &
Labor
Unions
Education
Architecture
Zero Waste 2020
Sustainable
Energy
Community
development
Sustainable
Economic
Development
“When you build an incinerator, you
are advertising to the world the you
are not clever enough - either
politically or technically - to recover
your discarded resources”
“When you build an incinerator, you
are advertising to the world the you
are not clever enough - either
politically or technically - to recover
your discarded resources”
TAX PAYERS
$DOLLARS JOBS
ENERGY SMALL
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
FLEXIBILITY
VISION
RESOURCES IMAGINATION
CREATIVITY
COMMUNITY
RESPONSIBILITY
INDUSTRIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
SUSTAINABILITY
Three final messages

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
To Citizens:
Don’t let the “experts” take your common sense
away
To Politicians:
Put your faith back in people - stop trying to solve
all your problems with overpaid consultants and
magic machines
To Activists:
Have Fun!
Dio
ricicla,
il diavolo
brucia
The Battle Hymn of
Garbage
(Chorus)
We
We
We
We
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
know there’s a better way!
The Battle Hymn of
Garbage
While we recognize our landfills
All are swelling with the waste
This doesn’t justify
A bad decision made in haste!
Let us put our heads together
So the problem may be faced
And we must do it now!
The Battle Hymn of
Garbage
(Chorus)
We
We
We
We
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
know there’s a better way!
The Battle Hymn of
Garbage
Mine eyes have seen the garbage
That’s a smoldering on the grate
We must stop incineration
Before it is too late
Unless we wish the dangers
We had better separate
And we must do it now!
The Battle Hymn of
Garbage
(Chorus)
We
We
We
We
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
don’t want incineration
know there’s a better way!