14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists know that waste can become a significant source of renewable energy. Their findings have managed to increase the profit margins of several major players on the market so far, providing an alternative, cost-effective solution to power large commercial buildings, households or even cars.
Despite the fact that this path is already familiar to some enterprises, most people aren't aware of the fact that plastic can become a key element in supplying energy consumers with green power, even after its life cycle has ended.
Recycling operations are often strong enough to take some of the pressure off the over-capacitated landfills all across the globe, but reusing the items we would be tempted to discard appears to be an even smarter strategy.
A new paper introduced by the Earth Engineering Center of Columbia University, financially supported by the American Chemistry Council, reveals that if all the items we consider useless were sent to innovative waste-to-energy power plants, instead of ending up in open dumps, experts would be able to deliver enough renewable energy to power up to 16 million households every year.
In cold regions, scientists say that district heating systems are quite efficient, which would make the utility bill shrink. This is the case of Denmark, a country which has almost managed to do away with its fossil fuel dependency.
The country relies on energy recovery plants that generate Steam which powers the turbines, obtaining clean, cost-effective energy in no time.
At this point in time, such kind of facilities are able to respond to up to 30% of the overall energy demand in Denmark.
While gathering and handling waste in a proper way seems to be a real challenge to most of the developing countries, plastic appears to be a game changer in the entire energetic equation.
Surprisingly, scientists have affirmed that plastic is a more efficient resource than coal. Not to mention that we'd never have to fear we will someday reach the limit of this eco-resource.
Plastic can be recycled, allowing us to preserve energy. But it seems the material provides even more advantages, as researchers from Europe, Japan and Canada are presently developing advanced conversion technologies, which allows them to transform non-recycled plastic into crude oil and other fuels, able to replace in a eco-conscious manner their traditional competitors.
If we take into consideration the fact that most car owners are unhappy with what they have to pay to power their cars, non-recycled plastic could represent one of the greatest hopes for the auto industry, in the near future.
According to experts in this field, once America learns how to separate the material and use its properties to convert it to alternative fuel, six million cars will roll on the streets without having their owners worrying about petroleum's price fluctuations.
Furthermore, taking into account the overall amount of non-recycled plastic the US currently has, it would be just enough to offer a clean source of energy to 5.2 households every year.
The process is not only cost-effective, it is also entirely in favor of the environment, since a waste to energy path would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70 million tons.
Some states already are already competing for supremacy in this field of activity. As we speak, Connecticut seems to be taking the lead, while managing to rely on waste to power quite a significant number of homes and commercial buildings.
Maryland is also doing a good job, after the state has adopted a new legal framework which makes the waste energy bloom, calling it the "Tier 1 renewable energy resource".
The trend will most likely expand within a few years. If we take a look at developed countries such as Austria, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, they are currently able to reuse up to 90% of what their inhabitants discard.