Agenda - Council - 08/26/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MECHANICAL VOLUME REDUCTION Should government require mechanical processing such as baling, shredding or incineration of waste to reduce solid waste volume and extend landfill life? Should waste processing facilities be publicly'or privately financed? Where should waste processing facilities ideally be located? Mechanical volume reduction such as baling and shredding have merit as volume-reduction techniques. Baling solid waste can obtain densities of approximately 1,800 pounds per cubic yard as opposed to the 1,000 to 1,400 pounds per cubic yard achievable by present compaction methods at existing landfills in the Metropolitan Area. Additional benefits from shredding include the possibilities for materials recovery through mechanical separation and composting that could potentially reduce the weight of the mixed waste to be land- filled by up to 50 percent. Issues involved with shredding or baling include location and owner- ship of the facilities, public or private financing of the construc- tion and operation of the facility and equipment, and the potential increase in costs to the consumer for waste disposal. Other issues involve the implementation process that would require landfill oper- ators to shred or bale wastes before landfilling. Should the coun- ties and cities mandate all wastes be shredded or baled before landfilling, or should the counties and cities seek to stimulate the private sector to shred or bale wastes with financial or other incentives? The major advantage of incineration of solid wastes is that the ultimate volume of wastes are reduced by approximately 90 percent. The major drawback of incinerators is the additional capital and maintenance costs required for large incinerators and related air pollution control equipment. Costs for the incineration of solid waste on the average are double the typical landfill costs per ton. Another drawback is the potential problem siting an incinerator. Few people would want to live near a facility that may be receiving 500 to more than 2,000 tons per day of solid wastes to be burned. Incin- eration for the sole purpose of volume reduction is not likely to be practiced when current technology permits energy recovery. This is discussed later in the section on resource recovery.