SOLID WASTE HANDLING
The mountains of trash generated by modern society are an ever increasing concern to the environment. Poor nations may burn the trash, causing the increasing amounts of plastic in the solid waste stream to produce toxic gases and noxious odors. Nations with land to spare create mountains of trash for future generations to deal with. But the space for landfills is decreasing.
Some rich nations ship their trash off to other
countries, where there is no ability to handle the increasingly toxic nature of
the waste, and the environment and public health are damaged more each
year. People with few other options throw trash into rivers and oceans,
where those downstream are subjected to increasing amounts of debris, and the
ocean, which is downstream from everywhere, develops toxic waste whirlpools the
size of Texas, where there is little oxygen to support life. Agricultural
waste, abundant in some impoverished regions, also accumulates without a viable
reuse program.
GGT is partnering with several companies to promote
technologies to convert solid waste to other products, including building
materials, electrical energy and heat, recyclable metals, and fuels.
These processes actually create value from trash; rather than using scarce
funds to accumulate more landfill, municipalities can convert their existing
and future solid waste streams to electrical power, heating or cooling,
recyclable materials, and reusable fuels. Organic garbage waste and
agricultural waste can be composted into valuable fertilizers, or used directly
in gasification/electrical generation systems.
