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Macaulay Conference: May 11 -12
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Welcome: Jonathan Krones
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What kind of society do we want to live in? “Plastics in our Waste: Rethinking How We Manage Materials to Achieve Just Sustainability
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64% Biogenic 85% of all municipal discards contain carbon! U.S. EPA 2011
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Putrefaction
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Synthetics: Permanence
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Most municipalities offer curbside commingled collections, source-separated
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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
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Problem with Plastics: Heterogeneity
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garbage bags
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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
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http://www.plasticsrecycling.org/im ages/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 recycled Source: 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
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What Else to Do with it? Make something useful with it! – Energy – Materials – Both
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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
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Anaerobic Digestion Accepts only biogenic wastes, Requires source separation Safer and more proven
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If all goes well… Waste Management World, “Plasma Arc the Leading Light,” volume 11, issue 6
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Energy production and consumption (U.S. 2010, in quadrillion BTU) Source: EIA 22011
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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
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Alternate Vision:
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Regulatory: Diminish Consumption, Route Products Back to Producers Precedent in existing regulations in some states and many countries outside the U.S.
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Bottle Bills
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Auto Battery Laws 98% recycling rate
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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” quality of lifejustecosystems Agyeman, J., Bullard, R. D., and Evans, B. eds., Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World (Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2003), 5.
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Three circuits of material sustainability Mineral recycling Composting Ecosystemic integrity: Protect sites of extraction, utilize renewable materials and energy Ecosystemic integrity: Protect sites of extraction, utilize renewable materials and energy Minimize toxics (synthetics)
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f Bamboo, Bagasse, Crop residues, Bioplastics, Kenaf…
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Occupy Wall Street, September 22, 2012
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