macaulay conference: may 11 -12. welcome: jonathan krones
TRANSCRIPT
Topic GroupRICHARD Artificial Trees Atmosphere, Air, WeatherAMANDA Artificial Trees Atmosphere, Air, WeatherDEREK NYC disasters and the adaptation of infrastructureAtmosphere, Air, WeatherSTEVEN Soot Pollution and Government Mitigation Atmosphere, Air, WeatherCHRISTOPHERSubway Platform Barriers TransportationMEGAN The Development of the Hybrid Car TransportationEDSON NYC Subway - Goals and Challenges for 21st CenturyTransportationLAWRENCE Hybrid Vehicles in NYC TransportationRAYMOND Public Transportation and Pollution Mitigation TransportationHYE MIN Green Roofs against Climate Change Urban Farming and CompostingJESSICA Urban Farming Urban Farming and CompostingJESSICA Vertical Farming in NYC Urban Farming and CompostingKELLY Future of Composting in NYC Urban Farming and CompostingNARCISO WTE in Sweden WasteMICHELLE Waste Management in NYC WasteJAE-EUN WTE in NYC policy WasteYANA Waste Management in NYC WasteSEAN Waste Management in NYC Waste
Macaulay Conference: May 11 -12
Welcome: Jonathan Krones
What kind of societydo we want to live in?
“Plastics in our Waste: Rethinking How We Manage
Materials to Achieve Just Sustainability
paper and cardboard 29%
food scraps 14%
yard trimmings 13%wood 6%
other organic wastes 2%
rubber/ leather 3%
textiles 5%
plastics 12%
metal and glass 14%
other_inorganics 2%
8% Synthetic / Biogenic
12% Syn-thetic
64% Biogenic
85% of all municipal discards contain carbon!
U.S. EPA 2011
Putrefaction
Synthetics: Permanence
Most municipalities offer curbside commingled collections, source-separated
What gets diverted to recycling?
Paper: 71 million tons generated,
63% recycled
Metals: 22 million tons
generated, 35% recycled
Glass: 11.5 million tons
generated, 27% recycled
Plastics: 31 million tons generated,
8% recycled
Problem with Plastics:
Heterogeneitydurablesplastic plates and cupstrash bagsother_nondurablesbottlesother plastic containersbags, sacks, wrapsother plastic packaging
(1) P
ET(2
) HDP
E(3
) PVC
(4) L
DPE/
LLDP
E(5
) PP
(6) P
S(7
) Oth
er R
esin
s(4
) LDP
E/LL
DPE
(new
) PLA
(5) P
P(6
) PS
(2) H
DPE
(4) L
DPE/
LLDP
E(1
) PET
(2) H
DPE
(3) P
VC(4
) LDP
E/LL
DPE
(new
) PLA
(5) P
P(6
) PS
(7) O
ther
Res
ins
(1) P
ET(2
) HDP
E(2
) HDP
E(3
) PVC
(4) L
DPE/
LLDP
E(5
) PP
(6) P
S(2
) HDP
E(3
) PVC
(4) L
DPE/
LLDP
E(5
) PP
(6) P
S(1
) PET
(2) H
DPE
(3) P
VC(4
) LDP
E/LL
DPE
(new
) PLA
(5) P
P(6
) PS
(7) O
ther
Res
ins
durable plastic plates
and cups
* othernondurables
bot-tles
other rigid plastic
containers
bags,sacks, wraps
otherplastic
packaging
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
recovereddisposed
tons
per
yea
r
garbage bags
Plastic Recycling Success Stories• #1 and #2 Bottles and jugs (21% and 28% recycling rates,
respectively)• #2 tubs and trays (19%)• # 4 wraps and plastic bags (18%)• #7 other durables (26%)
These account for 2.2 million of the 2.3 million tons a year of plastics recycling – out of some 31 million tons generated, leaving 28.7 million tons going to disposal
http://www.plasticsrecycling.org/images/stories/doc/chinapt2.pdf
Chinese worker sorting residual plastics from US recycling
28 million tons plastics sent to landfill or incineration in US in 2008
2.1 million recycledSource: U.S. EPA---- 2.1 million tons of waste, parings
and scrap plastic exported 90% to China (direct or via Hong
Kong)Source: USA Trade Online
What Else to Do with it?
• Make something useful with it!– Energy– Materials– Both
Pyrolysis-Gasification
• Staged conversion of carbon-bearing fractions MSW to energy, with little or no oxygen
• Safer, yields more energy per ton of material• Expensive, and unproven• Can accept (and welcomes) plastics, dumped en masse
Anaerobic Digestion
• Accepts only biogenic wastes,
• Requires source separation
• Safer and more proven
If all goes well…
Waste Management World, “Plasma Arc the Leading Light,” volume 11, issue 6
Waste Management World, “Plasma Arc the Leading Light,” volume 11, issue 6
Energy production and consumption (U.S. 2010, in quadrillion BTU)
Source: EIA 22011
technology(kWh per ton MSW) btu
Quadrillion BTU for 180 million tons per year of disposed MSW
percent of residential energy consumption
coveredLandfilling (Gas collection) 105 358,275 0.1 0.3%WTE Incineration 585 1,996,103 0.4 1.6%Gasification 660 2,252,013 0.4 1.8%Pyrolysis 660 2,252,013 0.4 1.8%Anaerobic Digestion 250 853,035 0.2 0.7%
conserved energy from displaced raw materials productionRecycling 2,250 7,677,319 1.4 6.2%
source: Tellus Institute, 2008
The Vision: Growth• Continued production, proliferation,
innovation of types of synthetic polymers (plastics)
• Product design changes when and where profitable (lightweighting plastic bottles)
• Recycle what the market will buy
• Compost a bit of the high-end yard wastes
• Convert the rest to energy, fuels, and even base chemicals
Alternate Vision:
Regulatory: Diminish Consumption, Route Products Back to Producers
Precedent in existing regulations in some states and many countries outside the U.S.
Bottle Bills
Auto Battery Laws
• 98% recycling rate
the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable
manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems”
Agyeman, J., Bullard, R. D., and Evans, B. eds., Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World (Cambridge, MA, USA:
MIT Press, 2003), 5.
Three circuits of material sustainability
Mineral recycling
Composting
Ecosystemic integrity:Protect sites of extraction, utilize renewable materials and energy
Minimize toxics (synthetics)
paper and cardboard 29%
food scraps 14%
yard trimmings 13%wood 6%
other organic wastes 2%
rubber/ leather 3%
textiles 5%
plastics 12%
metal and glass 14%
other_inorganics 2%
f
Bamboo,Bagasse,
Crop residues,Bioplastics,
Kenaf…
Occupy Wall Street, September 22, 2012
