Energy-Making Waste Plant Proposed
ReCycled Refuse International (RCR) is an U.K. based company has put a proposal before the Barbados government that with their help, Barbados could reduce contributions to the landfill by about 95 per cent and generate electricity in the process.
RCR, operates a number of sanitization plants in Wales, Northern Ireland, Brazil and Malaysia and in many others countries. It is contracted to build five plants in South Africa, and is negotiating projects in other countries including Iran, Lebanon and Israel.
Barbadian businessman, James Elliot of Ellco Rentals Ltd. and RCR together has submitted a proposal to government that, if accepted, would involve in setting up of a partnership between government and the company to build and operate a waste sanitization and separation plant.
Elliot explained to the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers, at a meeting, that the plant would use Steam Treatment and Generation (STAG) technology to reduce the volume of garbage reaching the landfill in two ways. First by reducing the actual volume of garbage and then using the remnants to create the fuel to produce the electricity. The plant would also be a net exporter of water. As a result, once it has passed the initial stages the plant would be self-sufficient, in terms of energy and water.
This sanitization plant would accept garbage of all types and by steaming it in steam autoclaves at a temperature if 160°c for about 90 minutes would reduce it to one sixth of its original volume. The process would also serve to sanitize the waste. An estimated 65 per cent of waste will be organic, which, once steamed, can then be converted into a fuel capable of generating electricity.
The STAG system is said to exceed Kyoto protocol requirements for waste disposal. The other main benefit of the system includes non-necessity of sorting waste at source. After the steaming process recyclables can be separated.
Elliot explained to the government that it would not have to invest anything initially. RCR would establish itself independently, but with the objectives of government in mind. This does not mean that government will be passive in the waste management process. The overall authority and command would be in the hands of the government.
On the contrary government involvement in the operation of the plant would be ideal. The problem of unemployment would be solved to some extent, as the intake would be around 35 depending on the level of mechanization. The proposal was submitted in 2002, adding that government has employed consultants to review the proposal and are actively considering it. If the proposal is approved, it takes about two years to for the plant to be constructed and be functional.