Recycling or incineration in Acworth, GA to to help solve our garbage issues.
Is recycling still a viable option? Not for many people in the US. In the last few years recycling has not gained any traction and for many cities it has started a downward slide and incineration of garbage is on the rise. Why? The two top reasons for both are cost and accessibility.
Communities are finding it is much more cost effective to burn garbage than to keep recycling centers open. But environmentalist are adamantly shaking their heads no!
With the new technology of waste-to-energy where garbage is burned to produce electric it seems like it would be a win-win for everyone concerned. Burning trash means less garbage for landfills plus a new source of electricity. So, what’s the problem?
Burning trash sends toxins like mercury and lead into the air. And even with all the EPA regulations and the modernization of newer plants, environmentalist don’t feel it’s enough.
On the flip side, landfills are by no means the ideal waste solution. The average person produces over 4 lbs. of garbage every day and there are 300 million people in the U.S. That is a lot of stinking garbage!
Plus, several landfills closed over the last 20 years as recycling became “the new rage” and waste-to-energy plants opened around the US.
But it seems the recycling fad of the 1990s is coming to an end, at least according to EPA statistics. Mostly, because it is just not profitable.
In fact some cities have done away with recycling altogether because they were running budgets into the ground.
So, now the cities are turning to trash incineration. It is cost effective and with recycling efforts on the downward slide and landfills bursting at the seams it seemed the obvious solution.
On a good note, the newer incineration plants will take certain recyclables out of the burn pile, at least metals and some plastics.
In a perfect world we would be able to incinerate burnable-safe trash and recycle glass and plastic to where it is all cost effective and environmentally friendly. For now, the EPA and waste management companies are doing what they can to keep trash from overtaking the country.
