August - September 2021
Part of the solution not part of the problem
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Thermal recycling is reliable, makes environmental sense and has no technical alternative, says Infrastructure Publisher Mike Bishara The Amager Bakke waste-toenergy plant in Copenhagen burns the waste of 500,000 – 700,000 its residents to power 150,000 homes with minimal CO2 production
56 infrastructurenews.co.nz
W
hatever name you choose -waste to energy programmes have an image problem they do not deserve. New Zealand has imported the simplistic “one size fits all” solution to landfill solution from the EU as a convenient and politically palatable solution. But even the European Commission’s most staunch supporters defiantly incorporate an acceptable face of incineration in their circular economies, which are far more advanced than New Zealand. One such facility built by Danish Engineering firm Ramboll quickly became a landmark and tourist attraction in the centre of Copenhagen. It has a ski slope on its roof, hiking trails, the world’s highest artificial climbing wall and a mountain bike trail. The waste incineration plant was completed in 2017 and has an annual capacity of 400,000 tonnes. And it was to Ramboll that Cambridge designer Neil Laurenson turned to plan a waste to energy conversion plant in Huntly. His $650 million plan 'Kaitiaki', would process items that could not be recycled, reused, composted or repaired and would work within what Laurenson described as "the circular economy" of waste. It called for a sea change in the way New Zealanders dealt with rubbish. Laurenson planned to have barcode scanners in every New Zealand home to help consumers identify which items were recyclable and which were not. The country's rail network and truck network would be utilised to transport waste to the new plant.