‘One Million Tonnes [ The Bumaby Incinerator passed the one million tonne mark this week with little fanfare and excitement. The Incinerator was commissioned in late 1987 and processes slightly less than 240,000 tonnes annually. The question often gets asked “What does 2 million tonnes of garbage look like?” The easiest comparison is with B.C. Place Stadium. If we filled the stadium up with garbage we would only have about a half a million tonnes. A million tonnes is therefore two stadiums full. Each adult in the Greater Vancouver Regional District produces approximately three quarters of a tonne of garbage each year. The GVRD now produces about 1,300,000 tonnes of garbage cach year. This is disposed of as follows: 240,000 tonnes 270,000 tonnes 190,000 tonnes 440,000 tonnes 160,000 tonnes Burnaby Incinerator Cache Creek Landfill Port Mann Landfill Burns Bog Landfil! Recycled . The objective of the GVRD is to reduce the total that requires landfilling and increase the tecycling, reduction and reuse of materials. The GVRD is currently producing a Sotid Waste Management Plan Review that will outline the manner in which Solid Waste will be treated for the next ten years. Dollars and Cents The tipping fee in the GVRD is $69.00 per tone. This is the combined cost of all the solid waste Costs divided by the number of tonnes. The following is the approximate cost of the Burnaby Incinerator: ‘Capital Cost Federal Contribution Net Cost. ‘ Annual Principal Payment . Interest on Capital 1992 Operating Costs Total Cost Revenue from Steam Net Cost 3 72,000,000 $ _ 8,000,000 $ 64,000,000 $ 3,576,000 $ 5,120,000 $ _7,550,000 $ 16,246,000 $ _2,700,000 $ 13,546,000 } Mercury Control The British Columbia Government issuec. the new regulations for municipal incinerators in June of last year. These rules require incineratcrs to control mercury emissions below .200 mg/m’. The Burnaby Incinerator averages less than half of the Provincial Regulations as indicated in the following table: * Average Wiercury Emission By Quarter (mg/m') DA 216 -082 Ouarter 1290 First 097 Second .083 Third 045 047 Fourth O53 052 Average .070 064 The Bumaby incinerator is the first incinerator in North America to have an installed mercury control system. Mercury levels in B.C. are generally higher than the rest of Canada because of the proximity to the Pacific "Ring of Fire". Volcanic eruptions produce the bulk of mercury emissions in the world and with our high rainfall it gives us higher ground level readings. It is anticipated that the American Regulatory Authorities will follow the lead of British Columbia and establish maximum mercury emission levels for the energy from waste industry. PLANT TOURS Advertisement Burnaby Incinerator Reduces Greenhouse Gases by 5 1/2 Million Tonnes How can we say that by buming garbage we reduce the greenhouse effect? The generation on earth of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFC's is gradualiy reducing the protection provided by the atmosphere for mankind. The increase in these chemicals is projected to increase the temperature of the earth with dire consequences. The Canadian Government and the Provincial Government have oniy agreed to try to hold the levels Steady over the next ten years but not to reduce them. Each of the above chemicals have a different effect upon the atmosphere. The following is the effectiveness factor for each: CO? Carbon Dioxide 1 CH4 Methane 25 x worse than CO7 N20 Nitrous Oxide 250 x worse CFC 11, £2, 13 Garbage that is landfilled produces COp> and methane as the garbage decays. There is methane generatica - because there is less air in a landfill and lots of water. The gasthat . comes off a landfill is 65% methane and 35% CO>. Scientists have now calculated that because methane is 25 x worse than: CO» that by buming garbage in.an incinerator rather than burying it in a landfill, the incinerator contributes 1/10th of the jouse gases that are generated by a landfill. For every tonne buried in a landfill 6.02 tonnes of CO equivalent is produced. For every tonne burned in an incinerator .5 tonnes of CO? is produced. It therefore can be calculated that the one million tonnes of gurbage burned at the Bumaby Incinerator has reduced the greenhouse gases by 5 1/2 million _ tonnes, Time for Cloth Diapers for Cats A recent study of the composition of residential garbage done in Ontario has discovered the next major problem with solid waste — the rapid rise of kitty litter. % By ‘Weight of Residential Garbage Fergus East York North Bay Reduce is not practical; reuse does not make sense to one's nose; so the only thing to do is to train kitty to wear a little diaper that you can wash. With a dropping birth rate among people and a strong resistance to birth control among cats, the kitty liter will continue to grow and will soon pass baby diapers as a problem for scciety. Diapers Kitty Litter 4.35% 3.26% 3.99% 1.66% 5.02% 2.00% Groups or Individuals Sunday, April 19, 1992 - North Shore News - 27 Who is Montenay? The Bumaby Incinerator belongs to the tax payers of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The piant was designed and built by Birwelco Ltd., a British consulting engineering company and is operated on 4 long term contract by Montenay Inc. Montenay Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of Montenay SA, a French service company. Montenay operates incinerators in France and in North America in Long Beach Califomia, Key West and Miami F.orida, Islip New York, Montgomery County Pennsylvania and Quebec City and Burnaby in Canada. The seven plants convert 7,500 tonnes of garbage to steam and electricity each day. Dioxin Facts Sources of Dioxin in Berlin (g/yr.) West Berlin Garbage Incinerator (500,000 t/yr.} East Berlin Garbage Incinerator (80,000 yr.) Hazardous Maicrials Incinerator (15,000 t/yr.) Recycle Steel Mills (1,400,000 t/yr.) Automobile Traffic Power Stations/Industry Home Heating with Wood Home Heating - Coal & Oil Crematoriums (19,000 cremations/yr.) Sewerage Sludge Incineration Aluminum Recycling Home & Apartment Fires (6,000-7,000/yr.) The German Government was concemed about the average ground level of dioxins in Berlin and commissioned a study that prepared the: __ above distribution of dioxin sources in the city. The old East German incinerator has no pollution control equipment and they ~ recommend retrofitting it or shutting it down. The other interesting recommendation was to try to change the materials used in coffins that were going to be cremated. A reduction in plastics is anticipated to reduce the dioxin - emissions. Using the wood smoke data from Germany and applying it to Vancouver, yields some interesting results. If 500,000 fireplaces were used 40 hours per year they would produce 13 grams of dioxin. The Burnaby Incinerator in a year would emit less than .024 grams of dioxin. We therefore calculate that the Burnaby Incinerator is equivalent to 4 1/2 fireplaces in the emission of dioxin. The use of fireplaces in the Lower Mainland represents a major source of pollution and it is anticipated that in the next two yeais, use will be restricted and in ten years they will be banned. Tourists Love The Incinerator | Since the first public tour in 1988, over 12,000 people have visited the Bumaby Incinerator. Almost every ; convention that hits town sends one or two bus loads of visitors down to the incinerator for a look. Visitors have come from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Europe and from Russia. Many schools in the Lower Mainland bring their students to the plant for a tour and all the Universities and Regional Colleges bring their environmental classes. The plant demonstrates the best available technology for the treatment of waste and is interesting for almost any age. Plan tours can be booked by phoning the plant at 521- 1025.