Sir, Readers may be relieved to know that European experience shows energy recovery from waste in a well planned modern facility does not give rise to the problems described by Gerry Boland and Mary O'Donnell (letters, March 10th). A waste fired power station could be a win win solution in terms of sustainability in Dublin, as it is in most European capital cities, diverting waste from landfill, avoiding gas and leachate formation when raw waste is landfilled, conserving fossil fuels and displacing the pollution that would otherwise be caused. And a significant contribution would be made to reducing greenhouse gas emissions which give rise to global warming.
Waste reduction, the prime goal for society, reuse and recycling must of course be pursued in seeking to divert waste from landfill. But as anyone will agree who has ever tipped out the contents of the average dustbin, about 40 per cent or more cannot sensibly be recycled. And what when there are no markets for the recycled materials?
The debate on the environment benefits of energy from waste (EfW) in most "green" countries was settled ten years ago. The answer lies in a balanced combination of recovery options recycling, energy recovery and composting. That is how countries such as Denmark and Sweden achieve high value recovery rates: 35 per cent energy recovery plus high materials recycling rates of 20 per cent or more.
it is quite wrong to say that all ash from EfW plants has to be landfilled. In many countries, bottom ash is reused in road base construction, replacing virgin aggregates. Only about three per cent of the ash, arising from the air pollution control system, may need to be stored.
Dioxin emissions from modern EfW plants are tightly controlled more so than many other sources, form a very low contribution to overall dioxin emissions and do not pose a health risk. No waste management solution is without environmental impact, and EfW must be judged against the alternatives, not in isolation.
Properly planned and sized EfW should not be opposed on largely imaginary grounds, but welcomed as part of a practical realistic solution to making better use of unavoidable waste. - Yours, etc.,
Energy from Waste Association,
26 Spring Street,
London W2 1JA.