Michael Harrelson
Some solid waste professionals鈥攍ike yours truly鈥攂elieve there is a 鈥渂etter way鈥� to 鈥渄ispose鈥� of our country鈥檚 waste than landfills. For instance:
- The global gasification market size was valued at USD 522.87 billion in 2023. The market is projected to grow from USD 551.92 billion in 2024 to USD 771.91 billion in 2032 at a CAGR of 4.28 percent over the forecast period (2024-2032).
- According to available information, as of 2021, there were聽approximately 100聽large-scale solid waste gasification facilities operating globally, handling Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).聽Panepinto and Zanetti, 2021 Jan 1, 2023
- Third Year of Record Growth for U.S. Biogas Industry; Expected to Continue in 2024. $1.8 billion was invested in new projects last year, according to numbers just released by the American Biogas Council.
Recent history might be compelling enough evidence that our country and world鈥檚 centuries of disposal of 鈥渨aste鈥� in the ground may, indeed, be coming to an end.
In the U.S., NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is shutting the door to continued landfill disposal, even when faced with increasing costs. Those with so much invested in air space construction, closure, post-closure, etc., will try to kick the can down the road to a better time.
So, we expect EPA and their primacy-granted state regulatory agencies to lead us into 鈥渢he new day鈥�; right? Or, just maybe, regulators only see their rule book. They are not the epiphany leader, just regulating what鈥檚 already on the books. So, why are regulators standing in the way of 鈥減rogress鈥�, standing in the way of what the people want and what the future is shaping up to become? Proverbs 29:18聽鈥淲here there is no vision, the people perish.鈥�
鈥淭his rule was passed in 1971, and I will enforce it till the鈥︹��
It seems to me that regulators are steadfast in defending the status quo than the public they serve鈥檚 desire to change the status quo concerning landfills. All state regulatory agencies have seen the face of the public during public hearings鈥攊n a live or die public showdown, they demand the future to be without landfills.
A state regulatory agency rule excerpt recently killed a recent solid waste gasification project. This particular reg is under the section named 鈥淰ectors鈥�. According to the EPA, a vector 鈥渋s an organism that can spread disease by carrying and transferring pathogens, such as an insect or rodent. Containerization of putrescible waste at the end of each working day unless otherwise approved by the department.鈥� So, in a transfer station, this would mean having a clean tip floor, and all that waste into, say, a walking floor trailer, ready to be transported by truck the next morning to a landfill. Does that stop 鈥渧ectors鈥� from getting in, pulling waste out? Can you keep every bird, squirrel or rat out of your home, all the time?
鈥淣o solid waste processing facility shall store putrescible waste for longer than 24 hours onsite.鈥� A gasifier cannot be operated in an 8-hour shift. It runs 24/7 for 4, 5, 6 months at a time (a couple of 10-day scheduled maintenance shutdowns/year). Therefore, gasification pundits must find a better way to 鈥渟tore putrescible waste鈥� besides just storing it, open, in the back of a trailer. And for more reasons than just 鈥淰ectors鈥�.
Gasification Industry Needs Garbage Sealed
Without the removal of moisture and air, solid waste begins anaerobic digestion immediately. More specifically, beginning a 60-day CO2 bloom the minute a banana is unpeeled. So, why is the Gasification Profession and the State Regulatory Agencies and EPA not on common ground on the point that something must happen ASAP to waste once it is disposed of? The state says either (i) put it in a trailer overnight then haul to the landfill the next day, or (ii) haul immediately to a landfill. Once the waste reaches a landfill, it is dumped on the ground. By the end of the day, it is compacted into the ground and covered with 鈥�6-inches of dirt鈥�.
However, every morning much of that 6鈥� of dirt is dozer back-dragged, dirt removed, the waste, again, exposed to air, moisture and those pesky vectors. Further, can the landfill compaction be more than 900#/cubic yard on the top of a landfill? Granted, as the more waste is applied, the more dirt is applied, the more pressure is applied then the compaction increases. For months, landfill operators compact non-homogenous densities in a mountain full of air pockets and moisture facultative of anaerobic and methanogenic bacteria. This is a recipe for millions of metric tons of CO2e to be emitted increasingly until the landfill is closed 40-50 years in the future, killing our ozone each and every day along the way.
Bale-and-Wrap: Enhancing Efficiency from the Start
Bale-and-Wrap鈥檚 role in our solid waste management plan is pivotal. Specializing in the initial stages of waste management,聽聽are ingeniously integrated with balers to聽 or accessible transfer stations. This first step is critical as it prepares the waste for efficient transport and processing down the line.
Wrapping waste offers significant聽. It prevents littering, leakages, and odors, ensuring that waste can be stored outside without the risk of environmental contamination. And is exponentially safer when stored inside. The durable wrapping is weatherproof and resistant to vectors (鈥減ests鈥�) and elements, enhancing the safety and hygiene of waste storage. Importantly, wrapping also prevents combustion during storage and transportation, enhancing safety and profitable usage. The wrap is a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with a thickness of 25 to 35 渭m.
Baled and wrapped materials are easier to handle and transport; they can be packed more efficiently into trucks, barges and rail cars allowing for the transportation of more material per cubic foot compared to loose waste. This efficiency in volume significantly improves transportation efficiency, reducing the overall carbon footprint of waste management logistics.
Further, one must recognize that once wrapped in 4 cubic yard bales weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tons per bale, bale-and-wrap instantly gives the gasification operator 1,250#/cubic yard to 1,750 #/cubic yards of instant compaction. With hundreds of Bale-and-Wrap facilities in Asia and Europe, and so much history under their belts, regulators in many countries do not even permit a time limit on storage, knowing well that a gasification-to-product plant is anxious to create product as quickly as possible and not allowing microbial activity to, literally, eat up profit.
Now, in response to the above I had the head of permits of a large state regulatory agency tell me on a recorded visual call that his new puppy could tear that bale to pieces in minutes. I congratulated him on his touring Europe and Asia with a new puppy to scientifically test these bales. To that, I offered video proof that one required a carborundum saw mounted on a mobile device to roll around the tip floor to saw these bales in two. You cannot just bust them open with a loader, dozer or excavator. Now, I wonder what would cause regulators to defend landfills as NIMBYs are in wanting to do away with them?
In Conclusion
This 鈥渘ew鈥� technology needs to be welcomed here in the U.S. as it is in Europe and Asia. EPA and the state regulatory agencies need to do their own testing with public comment to create a new solid waste management system set of rules and regs.
Michael Harrelson is Owner and CEO of Upcycled Waste. He can be reached at (573) 326-3400 or e-mail [email protected].