voiceireland.org » Waste

Have Your Say on Waste Policy!

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:00:41 +0000

The Department of the Environment released its new Draft Statement on Waste Policy on July 15^th 2010. VOICE urges you to make use of the public consultation period ending on October 1^st, to have your say on how Ireland can better manage its waste. The policy statement is to provide the framework for Ireland to meet, or ideally exceed, EU targets for waste management. The policy also aims to underpin the contribution of the waste management sector to our economic recovery.

You can find the Draft Policy and the form for making a submission, by the deadline of October 1^st, on the Department of Environment’s website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Waste/News/MainBody,23402,en.htm

Composting green waste saves as much CO2 as energy recovery

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:18:04 +0000

Recycling green waste as compost could match the environmental benefits of converting it into renewable energy, in terms of CO₂ savings, according to new German research says Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). It suggests that the two forms of waste management should be seen as complementary and both should receive subsidies.

Green waste is biodegradable waste, usually from gardens and parks, and includes grass, hedge trimmings, leaves and tree trunks. It can be used to produce energy in biomass power stations and receives a renewable energy subsidy in Germany. It can also be recycled as compost, which reduces the extraction of peat – an important sink for CO₂. However, composting does not receive financial support in Germany. The EU is currently developing policy to encourage composting and develop standards for composting across the EU¹.

The research compared the environmental benefits of energy recovery from green waste and of recycling green waste using 81 samples. It analysed the CO₂ balance of each system by estimating the release and savings of CO₂ at the different stages of the process chain. For energy recovery this included the transport, shredding, incineration and the CO₂ saved from the renewable energy produced. For recycling this included stages such as transport, composting and CO₂ saved by replacing peat. Four different types of green waste were considered that differed in their amount of wood, herbaceous/grassy material and soil.

The results demonstrated that waste with a high percentage of wood produced the most CO₂ savings for both composting and energy recovery whilst those with only herbaceous and soil components produced the least savings. The CO₂ savings from energy recovery varied from 126 to 1040kg of CO₂ saved per tonne of green waste, depending on the type of waste and its composition. The CO₂ savings from recycling varied from 259 to 1193kg of CO₂ per tonne of green waste, again depending on the type of waste. This indicates that the environmental gains, in terms of CO₂ savings, were similar for both energy recovery and recycling of green waste.

Notably, green waste with a high percentage of herbaceous/grassy content and soil content had twice the CO₂ savings from recycling as from energy recovery. This is probably because this type of waste has low heating values, due to high water and ash content, and is therefore better for composting purposes.

The researchers suggested that energy recovery and recycling of green waste should be judged as complementary systems. It is unlikely that one method on its own will achieve the desired reduction in CO₂ levels and a combination is more likely to lead to a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. As such they recommend that recycling of green waste be awarded equivalent financial support as the use of green waste to produce renewable energy.

1. See: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/compost/index.htm

Source: Kranert, M., Gottschall, R., Bruns, C. & Hafner, G. (2010). Energy or compost from green waste? A CO₂-based assessment. Waste Management. 30: 697-701.

Another opportunity to protest against Poolbeg Incinerator

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:29:35 +0000

Well done to all those who got out and protested against the proposed Poolbeg incinerator last Saturday 30th January in Ringsend. There were trade unions, politicians and locals together voicing their outrage about the proposed incinerator for Poolbeg. The event got great media attention and featured on the RTE Six One news that evening. See the link below for more http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0130/incinerator.html

Tomorrow, February 3rd, there will be another protest outside a conference being held with the company who are to run the incinerator, Covanta at the Westbury Hotel, Grafton Street at 11am. Show your support and go along! The event is organised by the Combined Residents Against Incineration (CRAI) group based in Ringsend.

Combined Residents Against Incineration (CRAI)Event this Saturday

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:32:45 +0000

‘No Monster Incinerator In Dublin Bay”

11.30am, Sat. Jan 30th, Dublin Waste to Energy Project, Clanna Gael, Sean Moore Road, Ringsend, D4–Bring friends, children, family, workmates- they need a big turnout!

‘The incinerator is anti-recycling:

Dublin City Council plan to build one of the biggest incinerators in Europe in Poolbeg– it will have a capacity for burning 600,000 tonnes of waste while Dublin only produces a fraction of that amount.

The Public Private Partnership means that 320,000 tonnes is guaranteed by the councils to the private operator of the incinerator. How will this encourage recycling or reduction of waste? Incineration goes against the principles of reduce, re-use recycle. Dublin City Council will in all likelihood be less inclined to continue to promote recycling

Too many health dangers:

There are potential health dangers of implications of the emission of toxic micro-particles to the population of Dublin. The plant will produce 10,000 tonnes per month of toxic bottom ash

It is a waste of Money:

The incinerator has already cost 120 million. How much more of your money will be spent on this white elephant?

We can stop this incinerator. Lets Keep up the pressure on the Dublin city council and Minister for the Environment John Gormley’

Organised by the COMBINED RESIDENTS AGAINST INCINERATION (CRAI)

Contact: Frances Corr: 0877715825 Rory Hearne 0861523542 May Kane: 0876994267

Irish biodegradable waste down but still over target

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:43:19 +0000

Ireland has achieved or is on track to meeting all EU waste targets except for biodegradable waste, according to the country’s environment agency. Biodegradable waste going to landfill fell by 19% last year but Ireland is still over target. The national waste report, covering 2008 data, shows the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill dropped to about 1.2 million tonnes. Under EU law biodegradable waste must be reduced by 75% of the quantity produced in 1995. The EPA calls for urgent action to divert large quantities of food waste from landfill including putting in place services for the separate collection of organic waste at households and commercial premises.

The report also shows municipal waste generation in Ireland fell by 5%. There was also a 24% decrease in the amount of construction and demolition waste. The decline is primarily due to the economic downturn. Packaging waste recovery was up by 1%, exceeding the EU’s 60% target for 2011. The country collected 9 kilograms of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) per inhabitant. The UK remains the prime destination for waste exported for recovery.

For more details see EPA press release at http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2009/name,27454,en.html