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 Sulfur NOx PM Mercury
dioxide dioxide

Leaflet from Xcel Energy

 Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon Sulfur NOx PM Mercury
dioxide dioxide

Natural 1192 0.005 1.2 0.07 1 x 10-8

Gas

Leaflet from Xcel Energy

 Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon Sulfur NOx PM Mercury
dioxide dioxide

Natural 1192 0.005 1.2 0.07 1 x 10-8

Gas
RDF 5870 1.0 9.6 0.22 6923 x 10-8

Leaflet from Xcel Energy

 Air emissions versus fuel
(pounds per thousand kwh)
Carbon Sulfur NOx PM Mercury
dioxide dioxide

Natural 1192 0.005 1.2 0.07 1 x 10-8

Gas
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

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 Production of
Virgin
Materials
Manufactured
items
Consumption Waste
 A LINEAR SOCIETY
ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin
Materials
Manufactured
items
Consumption Waste

Solid waste

Air pollution

Water pollution

Carbon dioxide
ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin
Materials
Manufactured
items
Consumption Waste

Solid waste

Air pollution

Water pollution

Carbon dioxide
ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

 INCINERATION & LANDFILLS

ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

 RECYCLING OF MATERIALS

ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

 REUSE OF OBJECTS

ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

 COMPOSTING

ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Production of
Virgin Manufactured Discarded
Consumption
Materials items Materials

Solid waste Solid waste

Air pollution Air pollution

Water pollution Water pollution

Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide

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 Meccanico-
Biologico 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 Energy output Energy savings
savings from from recycling
recycling incineration versus
GJ/tonne GJ/tonne incineration
Newsprint 6.33 2.62 2.4
Fine paper 15.87 2.23 7.1
Cardboard 8.56 2.31 3.7
Other paper 9.49 2.25 4.2
HDPE 64.27 6.30 10.2
PET 85.16 3.22 26.4
Other plastic 52.09 4.76 10.9
 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. 2.
The Furnace which The Air Pollution
Converts 100’s of control devices
Tons of trash into Which attempt to
Trillions of tiny capture the tiny
particles particles and some
and gases. of the gases
 Think of an incinerator as
three boxes

1. 2. 3.
The Furnace which The Air Pollution A depository for
Converts 100’s of control devices the tiny particles
Tons of trash into Which attempt to captured
Trillions of tiny capture the tiny (the fly ash)
particles particles and some and
and gases. of the gases the bottom ash
For every three tons of trash you get about one ton of ash

ELECTRICITY
TURBINE
WET SCRUBBER
SECONDARY STEAM DE-NOX
CHUTE CHAMBER TEMP FABRIC
BOILER < 200oC FILTER

SEMI-
DRY
SCRUBBER

Ca(OH) 2 SUSPENSION

GRATES ACTIVATED
CHARCOAL AMMONIA
INJECTION

TRASH
BOTTOM ASH 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 NANO
PCDDs (DIOXINS) PARTICLES
PCDFs (FURANS)
ETC
 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: 89-
94, 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
nLow- nHigh- nP*
exposure exposure
n(mean) n(mean)

nAt birth nT4 n122.5 n134.3 n0.071

nT4/TBG n0.240 n0.232 n0.45

nTSH n10.4 n11.9 n0.58

n1 week nT4 n154.5 n178.7 n0.006*

nT4/TBG n0.291 n0.332 n0.006*

nTSH n2.93 n2.56 n0.51

n11weeks 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

20 CENTURY
th 21st CENTURY

WASTE RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT

“ How do we get rid “ How do we handle our

of our waste discarded resources in
efficiently with ways which do not
minimum damage to deprive future
our health and the generations of some, if
environment ?” not all, of their value ?”
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 2 3

Composting
Facility
Slides from Enzo Favoino

Aerazione forzata
Aerazione Forzata
Composting Facility for
San Francisco
 1 2 3

Composting
Facility
 1 2 3

Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility
MATERIALS RECOVERY FACIILITY

at Pier 96
 1 2 3

Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility
We have to minimize
what goes into container
3 - the residuals
 1 2 3

Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility

Reuse & Repair

 1 2 3

Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility

Reuse & Repair

& Deconstruction
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 2 3 Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility

Reuse & Repair

& Deconstruction
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 2 3 Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
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
Operating in
Nova Scotia
DIRTY
ORGANIC
MORE MORE TOXICS FRACTION
RECYCLABLES

BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION

INTERIM LANDFILL
What we need
 RESIDUAL SCREENING FACILITY
Operating in
Nova Scotia
DIRTY
ORGANIC
MORE MORE TOXICS FRACTION
RECYCLABLES

BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION

INTERIM LANDFILL
RESIDUAL SCREENING & RESEARCH FACILITY

DIRTY
ORGANIC
MORE MORE TOXICS FRACTION
RECYCLABLES

NON-TOXIC, NON-BIODEGRADABLE
FRACTION
BIOLOGICAL
STABILIZATION
RESEARCH
CENTER
INTERIM LANDFILL
RESIDUAL SCREENING & RESEARCH FACILITY

NON-RECYCABLE MATERIALS

Local Or
University 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 2 3 Community
Initiatives to
Reduce
waste
Materials
Composting
Recovery
Facility
Facility
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 re-
used 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
 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

differenziato

Sonnino 7,154 54%

Sermoneta 7,000 64%

Lenola 4,200 65%
Monterosi 3,029 54%
Bassiano 1,670 50%
Italy
 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

80%

70%

60%

50%

40% 73,82% 75,63%

70,42%
65,64%
30%

20% 33,64%
27,18%
10%

0%
CONSORZIO ANNO 2000 CONSORZIO ANNO 2001 CONSORZIO ANNO 2002 CONSORZIO ANNO 2003 CONSORZIO ANNO 2004 CONSORZIO ANNO 2005
(14 COMUNI) (14 COMUNI) (14 COMUNI) (18 COMUNI) (22 COMUNI) (22 COMUNI)
 0,00%
10,00%
20,00%
30,00%
40,00%
50,00%
60,00%
70,00%
80,00%
90,00%
Arcade 42,19%
80,20%

Breda di Piave 32,53%

78,53%

Carbonera 31,68%
75,04%

Giavera del Montello 25,22%

74,41%

Maserada sul Piave 25,11%

79,09%

Nervesa della Battaglia 19,05%

75,36%

Paese 35,40%
72,41%

Ponzano Veneto 15,06%

72,52%

Povegliano 19,45%
75,44%

Quinto di Treviso 35,46%

78,75%

Silea 18,94%
74,32%
Spresiano 18,48%
72,35%

Susegana 18,23%
70,83%

Villorba 32,43%
68,70%

Casier 48,41%

ANNO 2005
ANNO 2000
75,62%

Monastier 45,98%
73,69%

Preganziol 67,89%
82,06%

Zero Branco 54,96%

75,08%

Casale sul Sile 11,55%

79,98%

Roncade 47,01%
RISULTATI QUANTITATIVI

81,45%

S. Biagio di Callalta 55,16%

78,79%

Zenson di Piave 46,13%

81,29%

CONSORZIO PRIULA 33,74%

75,63%
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
€ 70,00
€ /a b

€ 60,58

€ 60,00 € 65,69

€ 50,00 Costi di gestione senza raccolta differenziata

€ 40,00
Costi di gestione con raccolta differenziata

€ 30,00
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
ANNO
 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 1: Nova Scotia, Canada
Part 2: Burlington, Vermont, US
Part 3: Canberra, Australia
Part 4: 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”
 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 Education
agriculture

Architecture
Industrial
Design &
Labor Zero Waste 2020
Unions

Sustainable
Energy
Community Sustainable
development 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”
TH
IS
FO IS CO
R N OT M M
T U
OF HE REA NIT
D Y
CE THE EMA DY
NT 21 ND
UR ST S
Y.
 TAX PAYERS
$DOLLARS JOBS
ENERGY SMALL
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
FLEXIBILITY VISION
RESOURCES IMAGINATION
CREATIVITY
COMMUNITY
RESPONSIBILITY
INDUSTRIAL
RESPONSIBILITY

SUSTAINABILITY
 Three final messages
 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 don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We 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 don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We 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 don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We don’t want incineration
We know there’s a better way!