PowerSwitch

Energy Minister Malcolm Wickes has approved a new power station in Cheshire fuelled by waste, and granted planning permission. INEOS Chlor Ltd intend to construct an energy from waste combined heat and power (CHP) station with a capacity of 100 MW, at Runcorn, Cheshire.

https://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.a ... wsAreaID=2

Madness. Which is more mindless, the ministers or the population that elects them?

3rd day at Glastonbury festival syndrome.

First day. Punters gather wood from piles and sit round fires by their tents at night.

Second day. Punters co-operate and have to share fires.

Third day. Firewood pinched from others private stashes, and that evening anything is burned. Old waxed cups, bin bags full of rubbish etc. Site has a choking acrid smoke hanging over it.

Just wondering...in what way it it madness?

Because the stuff that forms waste should not have been created in the first place?
Because all the waste should be reused or recycled?
Because it would be better to dump the waste into landfill?
Because it would be better to ship the waste to China and let them deal with it?
Because Malcolm Wicks has approved it?

You got the hierarchy just about right.

Burning waste to produce power is better than dumping it in landfill, but it would be better still to recycle more of the waste, and better still not to produce as much waste in the first place.

Oh dear, I hope the contracts to supply a certain amount of rubbish have taken into account the coming slump in consumption. As I understand it if councils don't meet their targets they pay fines to the 'energy' companies.

So whatever you do, make sure you fill up those bin bags, it's your duty!

I agree with Adam.

I think some good progress is being made on recycling - I think the UK is up to 30% of domestic waste being recycled compared to almost nil in the mid nineties.

We are still some way off some other EU states (Holland and Germand are over 50%), but good progress none the less.

oilslick wrote:Oh dear, I hope the contracts to supply a certain amount of rubbish have taken into account the coming slump in consumption. As I understand it if councils don't meet their targets they pay fines to the 'energy' companies.

So whatever you do, make sure you fill up those bin bags, it's your duty!

If there's a shortage we'll have to start mining it ! If we haven't built houses on top.

Any predictions on when Peak Rubbish will occur?

JohnB wrote:Any predictions on when Peak Rubbish will occur?

How about, exactly 2 years time? The EU packaging directive of 2010 says all packaging (most domestic rubbish is packaging) has to be recyclable.

The government will demonstrate that reducing things to carbon via extreme temperature constitutes recycling...recycled as air particles for us all to breathe...

Rubbish is a great renewable source of energy, along with nuclear and clean coal.

oilslick wrote:The government will demonstrate that reducing things to carbon via extreme temperature constitutes recycling...recycled as air particles for us all to breathe...

Yes and about the only thing you can do with incinerator ash is...make roads! Words fail me.

Andy Hunt wrote:Rubbish is a great renewable source of energy, along with nuclear and clean coal.

It's bliss isn't it