32 comments on Post peak Italy: Naples submerged by waste
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Rubbish is energy, yes. Why is it not burned? I must confess that I don't know the answer. But I may try an interpretation, anyway, noting that waste to energy facilities require big investments. Also here, there is a long, long history that involves an Italian company named Impregilo, that should have built a waste-to-energy system, but they didn't. The story is awfully complex, they built a facility that made fuel for incinerators in the form of something called "ecoballe" ("ecobags"). These ecobags were made of trash packed and wrapped into a cube. For some reason, these ecobags could not be burned, but have been accumulating in huge piles somewhere near Naples. Surely, these ecobags have economic value as fuel, and there seems to be some fighting ongoing on who should burn them. There is even a proposal to burn them in Germany! Here, organized crime may have played a role: the ways of the Camorra are mysterious.
About why there is a problem; the idea that I have is that Naples is no different than any other place. The problem is showing up there earlier than in the rest of Europe because, first, the high demographic density of the area (I forgot to mention this point in the post) and, second, economic weakness in comparison to other European cities. Organized crime is a factor, of course, but I think it is more a consequence than a cause. Anyway, I think that the main cause if the weakness of the local economy that prevented the kind of investments that have solved the problem in other places, say, in Germany.
In the whole story, I see a certain "post peak" flavor. The peak is causing a further economic decline and it is making the problem worse. Maybe it is because of this that the situation has exploded right now. Maybe I am wrong, but I see the problem spreading north.
Burning of trash is really problematic. Yes, it does represent energy but what kind of energy. It is probably closer to coal or perhaps lignite or peat. Waste to energy systems burn at a rate that is designed to optimize steam generation for electic turbines. The mixed nature of many waste streams often does not allow adequate combustion. Some portions are too wet, others have a low heat value. Many existing plants produce significant quantities of PIC's (products of incomplete combustion), sub 10 micron flyash that baghouses cannot capture, and are dioxin generators. Most waste to energy facilities still generate 15% or higher ash streams which still need a landfill, sometimes a hazardous waste landfill. They tend to get sited in poor neighborhoods so rich folks won't have to deal with health issues. Trash incineration is inferior to landfilling. Not producing so much in the first place is best.
Another long story. Energy can be obtained from trash, but not from any trash. The trash must be pre-processed; it has to contain a certain fraction of plastic. Then there are the problems with the emissions, the fact that a landfill is still needed. One of the consequences of peak oil, anyway, will be to reduce the amount of plastic in domestic garbage. That will reduce the capability of incinerators to generate energy and may make plants become net energy absorbers rather than producers. So, energy will be needed for incinerating waste. Another nice negative feedback effect that may rapidly make incinerators as obsolete as steamships. Not that it would be a bad thing altogheter.....
Despite my best efforts at recycling, reducing, and reusing my bin still ends up with a fair proportion of soiled food packaging - plastic or paper. It does seem to me to be a waste to landfill this calorific material. I assume WTE plants have some capability to contribute towards peak capacity unlike most renewable systems?