Energy generated from waste
Electricity is being generated in the UK by incinerating waste, including food waste and plastics which could be recycled. This energy
is often promoted as 'green' energy but since it is generated from burning plastics which are made from oil, is it really 'green'? What do you think?
is often promoted as 'green' energy but since it is generated from burning plastics which are made from oil, is it really 'green'? What do you think?
Comments
I think we need to ensure that we don't become complacent though and just say that it doesn't matter what we buy and then throw away if it's going to be incinerated (if this becomes far more common in the future), as recycling is considerably better for the environment, both in lower energy consumption of new product creation, and lower virgin material use.
There's a reason why it's Reduce, then Reuse, then Recycle.
I am all for recycling if done properly, my local council sent most abroad to achieve their targets. Stirlingshire council ordered many thousand of new plastic bins and then discovered they could not use them, guess where they ended up!
I wanted some scrap wood for some shuttering to make a concrete base for a shed, the local recycle centre said I would be charged with theft if I took some even if I returned after use, so I had to buy new wood and scrap it a few days later (at the recycle centre) once the concrete set.
If you can catch something as it comes out of someone's boot though, there's nothing the recycling centre can do about it. Scored a few good items over the years that way.
Reduce waste >
redistribute it (in the case where food can be rescued and, for example, used by food redistribution charities >
feeding it to animals (which theoretically reduces pressure on harmful land use change driven by feedcrops for animal husbandry, particularly pigs) >
recycling >
use for energy through incineration or anaerobic digestion.
We feel that this is partly a regulatory matter. For the most part, Bulb trusts Ofgem's certification of a fuel as renewable when deciding whether to use it, although we do have certain policies about which renewable fuels we confidently trust. (We distrust biomass from trees and non-run-of-river hydro.) We would love to see Ofgem formally incorporate the food waste hierarchy when certifying the renewableness of fuels.
In England, the packaging industry contributes less than 10% of the money needed to recycle their plastics.
The public pay the rest through council tax.
Waste consultancy firm Eunomia says the industry should contribute more.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-43309332/the-recycling-industry-s-28bn-problem.
It is no wonder that the public complain about costs...
9% of my fuel costs to pay for subsidies.
As for council tax...
We pay 90% of the cost for plastic recycling with council tax.
and 33% of my council tax to pay for council pensions.
The "Plastic, not currently recyclable" on products also frustrates me. All products should have to specify exactly what the material is. The customer then can make their own mind up as to whether or not it's recyclable! Yeah, it's criminal. Introduce a sliding scale of tax on packaging and watch as packaging disappears or turns into cardboard overnight.