I recently visited my hometown of Squamish and learned that the landfill will be closed and options to transfer or incinerate the garbage are being considered. Both options do not seem like options at all. Transferring costs money and does not solve the problem, it just moves it out of sight, and incineration has its own drawbacks, such as, smell and smoke/ash.
I have been reading about anaerobic digestion lately and this is a fascinating concept. In South Korea, Beijing, Germany, Denmark, Ottawa and several other locations around the globe have "garbage power" plants. If you Google "garbage power" you will see a myriad of articles on this not-so-new technology.
The initial cost can be quite high, but the environmental impact is low, plus it is a renewable source of energy, with potential revenue streams for the operator. The plant in South Korea, for instance, provides enough energy to power itself and 108,000 homes every year. Imagine what a small facility in Squamish could do! It would take in the garbage from Squamish residents and provide energy to those same residents with no odour, and minimal carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) emissions.
You may wonder why I am emailing you and my reason is simply this: I have told whomever will listen about this awesome energy source, but I can only tell one person at a time. At the newspaper you have a voice to educate many people about the options available to them to make their world a little greener.
If nothing else at least I have spread the word to one more person.
Christie Pryce
Edmonton
