We need to advance solid waste technology
New York City is phasing out food waste recycling, which is long overdue. Anaerobic digestion and composting techniques are known and available. We should recycle as much as we can with available technology: especially food waste, aluminum and rare earth metals, which have market value and are cost-effective to recycle today. However, recycling efforts of all kinds often fail because of: (1.) difficulties in ensuring that a “clean” waste stream is not contaminated with material that does not belong, (2.) uncertain markets for recycled materials, and (3.) multiple pick-up The cost of garbage.
In the US, more and more of our trash is being “disposed of” rather than landfilled, yet the US still has huge problems with solid waste production and disposal.according to Environmental Protection Agency:
“Over the past few decades, the generation and management of MSW [municipal solid waste or garbage] Substantial changes have taken place. Production of MSW increased…from 88.1 million tons in 1960 to 292.4 million tons in 2018…a rate of only 2.68 pounds per person per day in 1960. It increased to 3.66 pounds per person per day in 1980, reached 4.74 pounds per person per day in 2000, then dropped to 4.69 pounds per person per day in 2005, and the production rate in 2018 was 4.9 pounds per person per day, an increase of 8% over 2017… …over time, recycling and composting rates have increased from just over 6% of MSW generated in 1960 to about 10% in 1980, to 16% in 1990, to about 29% in 2000, and By about 35% in 2017… landfill volume has decreased from 94% of generation in 1960 to 50% of generation in 2018. “
Garbage has to be collected and taken to some kind of facility for treatment, incineration or dumping. As our population grows and our consumption grows, so does our waste. While production waste per capita seems to have plateaued, it represents a huge amount of material and we have to figure out how to reuse it. Recycling is an important tool for environmental education, and it does help divert waste from landfills, but it won’t get us anywhere near a circular economy. To achieve a truly circular economy, we need to systematically and automatically reuse most of the material in our garbage bags. In my new book, environmentally sustainable growth, I discuss the idea of extracting resources from a single mixed waste stream.as i wrote that book:
“Solutions for waste management will rely on new technologies. One of the most promising approaches is to collect a single waste stream and then mechanically separate the waste. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, we can expect this infrastructure to be be operational and cost-effective within the next ten years. Today, some sorted waste goes to anaerobic digesters, some is recycled, some is incinerated for energy, and the residue from incineration can be used as building material. However, we Advances in classification infrastructure can be expected.
Specific infrastructure advances required include waste sorting plants to separate food, plastics, paper, metals and chemicals, and then send these clean waste streams to reprocessing plants. These factories will be the logical connection points for a truly circular economy. While some U.S. cities have low waste management costs, they all pay to collect and dispose of their trash. These costs can be shifted to a system that, instead of dumping and burning waste, sorts and sells raw materials such as plastic raw materials, paper and chemical components of fertilizers. These recycled raw materials can pay for some of the future disposal costs. But such a complex waste management system would be costly, and in its initial stages it would require federal subsidies for research, pilot projects and capital costs. ”
This technology is no fairytale: elements of it are already being tested, and some are already in practical use. In an article for IEEE Spectrum, Jason Calaiaro, president of Amp Robotics in Louisville, Colorado, explains how his company’s AI-based system works.according to Calayarohis company:
“…hardware and software are being developed that rely on image analysis to sort recyclables with far greater accuracy and recovery rates than typical sorting by traditional systems. Other companies are similarly working to apply artificial intelligence and robot technology recycling, including Bulk Handling Systems, machineand empty. To date, this technology has been installed in hundreds of sorting facilities around the world. Expanding its use will prevent waste and protect the environment by keeping recyclables out of landfills and making them easier to reprocess and reuse. “
in Italy, IBM It is working with Hera, the country’s largest waste management and recycling company, to use video and artificial intelligence to enhance waste sorting and recycling. Academic literature on elements of automated waste management systems is becoming more common. A recent (2022) paper by Pravin R. Kshirsagar (et al.) is entitled “Artificial Intelligence-Based Robotics for Reusable Scrap”. This article reports a study that determined:
“…Steps you must take to get the most out of your trash. This work describes a reusable industrial robotic arm for grasping and sorting items according to the resources they contain. In this study, grasping, motion control, and object material sorting are integrated into a fully automated, reusable system architecture… to move the robot’s motion in the most efficient manner, the robot’s grasping and sorting are incorporated into the motion designing process. “
When waste management systems include electric vehicles and are powered by renewable energy and generate electricity through waste-to-energy, elements of a circular, renewable resource-based economy can move beyond theory into operational reality. The goal should be to replace the extraction of natural resources from the earth with the extraction of waste streams. This business model is promising due to the rising cost of waste collection and treatment and the increasing scarcity of some key natural resources. Aluminum recycling is already cheaper than making aluminum from raw materials.
While, as with most new technologies, the economics of waste mining are promising, the financial risks of developing the technology are by no means trivial. In addition, we face the difficulty of overcoming institutional inertia to replace current practices with new ones. The health sector is not known for being receptive to new technologies and waste management techniques. Plus, elected officials see little benefit in tackling the trash problem. No mayor is in a hurry to cut the ribbon on a new waste management facility. Finally, new technologies will require new waste management facilities, and few communities are willing to be home to these facilities.
The technologies themselves are still under development, and the U.S. federal government may consider funding engineering and management research to accelerate the development of automated waste management and mining technologies. Given the number of private companies already working in this area, tax credits could also be used to encourage the development of public-private partnerships between cities, regions, states and private waste management companies. Attracting private capital and investing in new waste treatment facilities may initially require tax cuts or direct government investment. Cities like New York are large enough to invest their own capital budgets in building advanced waste management facilities. If a modern NYC waste disposal facility needs to be located outside the city, a beach town (so that it can barge waste away) might enter the facility at low cost to reduce their own waste management costs.
While advanced waste management is critical to sustainable urban development, it takes visionary public leaders to see the need for innovation and skilled political communicators to turn waste issues into something other than what is often a failure other things. As mining the earth becomes more destructive and costly, I believe the need for waste mining will become clearer. By then, the technology may be more proven, and the waste management revolution we need could become a reality.
