New York Times talks incinerator technology

In yesterday’s edition of the New York Times, reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal crafted a detailed feature, titled Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags. In it she writes: “Far cleaner than conventional incinerators, this new type of plant converts local trash into heat and electricity. Dozens of filters catch pollutants, from mercury to dioxin, that would have emerged from its smokestack only a decade ago.”

The article tries to make the case that advanced technology incinerators are environmentally-sound.

“Whether true or not, one thing for sure is that burning food and yard waste — which have a high moisture content — is actually energy negative and reduces the energy output of the incinerator,” said Harvest Power’s Wayne Davis, a co-founder and head of Incentives and Governmental Affairs for the company.

“In much of northern Europe, those portions of the waste stream would be separated out prior to incineration and sent either to composting or to a high solids anaerobic digester which is ideal for extracting the energy from those waste feedstocks,” he added.

What are your thoughts on the benefits of organics recycling facilities vs. new incinerator technology?