What Lies Beneath - Problems with Solid Waste

What Lies Beneath

The terms ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ look good on paper but can still cause serious economical and ecological problems in actuality.



The City of Spokane is home to one of the most controversial methods of garbage disposal on the planet: Incineration.

Incineration, a.k.a. Waste-to-Energy, is a process through which garbage in burned at over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. The superheated gases released from the burning waste are used to generate electricity through steam production.

Incineration provides an efficient method with which to drastically reduce the amount of waste by up to 80 percent but also presents serious pollution issues.

The Spokane WTE plant, constructed in 1991 at a cost of $110 million, currently employs 36 people and burns about 250,000 tons of waste annually.

Proponents for this technology explain that incineration not only greatly reduces the amount of waste but it is much more efficient than landfills.

“Incineration reduces waste weight by 70 percent and volume by 90 percent, all while recovering energy,” said Russ Menke, Director of Spokane Regional Solid Waste System.

Despite Waste-to-Energy claims of efficiency and cleanliness, opponents maintain that these facilities cause much more harm to the environment.

“The problem with garbage incineration is you never know what you’re burning,” said Spokane City Councilman Bob Apple, “you’re simply implementing the best technology you have to deal with it.”

According to a budget report released by the City of Spokane the Spokane WTE facility produced around $10 million in electricity in 2008, showing a significant drop from $12 million in electricity sales in 2007.

“2008 was just not a good year for us,” said Menke.

Menke explained that incinerator facilities are difficult to maintain and that the Spokane plant was starting to deteriorate. Wheelabrator, the operator of the facility, shut down the plant for repairs which ultimately cost the Spokane Regional Waste System money.

However, this is not the first time the facility has been shut down for repairs.

“The plant is down nearly 20 percent of the time,” said Spokane County resident Craig Sullivan.

Repairs are frequent and often costly; Menke estimates that Wheelabraor spent nearly $7 million in repairs during the shutdown in 2008.

Not all of the down time is spent on repairs. The facility spends several times a year conducting emissions and efficiency testing to ensure local, state and federal pollution guidelines are being met, though, the efficiency of the tests themselves are questioned by many.

“So much has to be done with the testing but nothing has been,” said Mike Noder, Spokane County Solid Waste Advisory Committee member.

The testing only occurs only a few times a year and the facility is aware of when those tests will take place Noder explained.

Sullivan approximated that for every 8,000 hours of operation at the facility, only 12.5 were spent testing and that brings up serious concerns about reliability of test results.

The Spokane WTE facility underscores a more sensitive issue within the county: the solid waste system itself.

“The problem is so much bigger than just a single facility,” said Noder.

Noder and Sullivan both agree that a lack of competition and transparency within the SRSWS are the main issues facing the City of Spokane and the residents of Spokane County. One of them being the $98 tipping fee, one of the highest in the country, that each Spokane County resident must pay for waste disposal.

“The city is managing both sides of the trade. How is that fair,” asked Noder.

Menke explained that County officials and others are currently looking for alternatives for the system and that they hope to put them in place by 2011.

“One of the recommendations is creating a different structure that would be more representative. Alternatives like having an independent entity as management instead of the city,” said Menke.

The contract for the operation of the Spokane WTE facility ends in 2011 and will present a unique situation for Spokane County: finding a new operator.

The fate of Spokane WTE and SRSWS are unclear, but one aspect seems apparent; change is inevitable.


For more information:

Spokane Regional Solid Waste System:
http://www.spokanesolidwaste.com/default.asp

Wheelabrator Technologies Inc.:
http://www.wheelabratortechnologies.com/

Washington State DOE:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0104010.html