Changing Urban Environments: Incineration Vs Landfill

Question 1

Why is this studied in Amsterdam?

Answer 1

Amsterdam has a growing population and a diminishing amount of spare space, with an increase of waste generation. The Dutch are trying to avoid waste, and generating energy by incinerating residual waste and only dump what’s left in an environmentally acceptable way- known as ‘Lansinks Ladder’ - incorporated into Dutch legislation in 1994.

Question 2

Why is landfill a problem?

Answer 2

There were increasing number of objections to waste disposal (landfill) sites from the public, due to smell, soil pollution and groundwater contamination

Question 3

What have Amsterdam done about the landfill problem?

Answer 3

• in 1995, government introduced a landfill tax on every tonnes of material landfilled. This gave waste processing the financial incentive to look for other methods such as recycling and incineration. The tax was increased year on year intill 2012, when it was repealed because the low level of landfilling had rendered the tax unnecessary.
• landfill ban covering 35 waste categories was introduced in 1995.

Question 4

What are the results of the landfill taxes?

Answer 4

Amount of landfill decreased significantly, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By 2006, the country had already reached the targets of the landfill directive set for 2016.

Question 5

What’s the incineration strategy referred to as waste-to-energy (W2E) in Amsterdam?

Answer 5

The Afval Energie Bedrijf (AEB) incineration plant- capable of producing 1 million MWh of electricity annually and produces 300,00 gigajoules of heat annually for communities around Amsterdam.
- annually, 1.4 million tonnes of waste is brought to the W2E plant
- 64% of waste that ends up in the plant is recycled.
- next door to the W2E plant is the Waternet water treatment plant. The 2 plants work together; W2E supplies energy and heat for water treatment processes; the water plant injects its sludge and biogas into the incineration plant as an additional fuel source.
- as the plant performs several functions (elimination of waste, generation of energy and heat) simultaneously, it compares positively to other disposal methods, actually avoiding 438 kilo tons of CO2 per year.

Question 6

What’s the environmental comparison?

Answer 6

If the equivalent amount of waste was put into landfill, the CO2 emissions per year would be 1036 kilotons.

Question 7

What’s the conclusion from this debate?

Answer 7

The waste to energy strategy in Amsterdam is considered both economically and environmentally better than landfill. However, incineration is still controversial, as in 2014, the Dutch government set the target to reduce waste-to-incineration by 50% and focus on improving rates of reduction and recycling. Like other 21st century cities aiming for greater sustainability, the movement away from waste disposal to overall waste reduction is the ultimate goal.

Question 8

What is incineration?

Answer 8

Waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration can reduce the volume of disposed waste by up to 90%
+ can inactivate disease agents
+ can reduce toxicity waste
+ produce energy
+ incinerator bottom ash can be recycled as a secondary aggregate
- expensive
- not all waste is combustible
- unpopular with local residents

Question 9

What is landfill?

Answer 9

The disposal of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil.
+ different types of waste are accepted and ordered
- often opposed by neighbouring residents
- potential leaching of chemicals threatens groundwater supply
- takes up a lot of space
- high transportation costs