Is it smart to generate power at any cost, or are we sacrificing our organics to feed an energy addiction when composting makes more economic and environmental sense?

1. ADDICTED
to convenience
What fate awaits composting
in an energy-mad world?

2. Should the generation of energy take
priority over common sense?

3. Energy-generating add-ons to landfills (LFGE)
and incinerators are pushed as “waste-to-
energy” (WTE) solutions for organic waste.

4. And taxpayers
buy it,

5. even though, for organics, WTE costs more,
uses more energy than it generates, and …

6. does not return organic matter to the soil
to complete the recycling loop.

7. Is the First World so addicted to convenience
that we accept energy generation at any cost?

8. Does composting have a future in a
power-hungry world?

9. Humans prospered on this planet for
millennia without centralized electric utilities.

10. We’ve only had access to electricity
as a service for about 130 years.

11. But in that short
time, we’ve
become addicted
to its convenience.

12. Where does that leave composting?

13. Fighting for feedstocks.

14. Composting competes with landfills and
incinerators for organic waste,

15. which makes up 40-60% of a typical
municipal waste stream ...

16. and a big slice of landfill and WTE revenue.

17. WTE technologies, developed and marketed
as “sustainable” energy, help traditional
disposal hold on to this income.

18. But landfills and waste-to-energy are NOT
sustainable systems for biodegradable
material,

19. because they do not return organic matter
to the soil.

20. This includes anaerobic
digestion (AD) without
composting or other soil-
regenerative digestate use.

21. The critical need for organic matter recycling
is hidden by energy generation’s shadow ...

22. even though biomass is one of the most
expensive ways to generate power.

23. It costs more per MWh than advanced nuclear.

24. IT’S A FACT:
For many metro areas,
composting organics at a
modern, high-rate
commercial facility can be
more economical than
burning or burial.

25. But addiction isn’t rational or logical.

26. Whether the “drug” is opium, sugar, or
electricity…

27. an addict’s gotta have it.

28. But if all MSW
biodegradables were
source-separated
and composted,

29. that compost could add more than 600
billion gallons of water-holding capacity
to soils…

30. and sequester
millions of tons of
carbon more
economically than
any other
technology.

31. In the U.S., the potential savings in stormwater
management and treatment alone …

32. could solar power all households in
California, Texas, and most of Florida.

33. So, is energy generation from organics via
LFGE and WTE really the way to go?

34. Is it wise to
generate power
so foolishly?

35. Let’s break free of our addiction to energy
at any cost.

36. Don’t burn or bury organics. Instead …

37. use them to rebuild soil.

38. Improve soil percolation, reduce erosion,
and stop polluted runoff.

39. Fight climate change by storing more carbon
in soil.

40. Just say NO to WTE destruction or landfill
burial of organics,

41. and say YES to composting and compost use.

42. Learn more
Read the article: Addicted to convenience – what fate awaits composting in an
energy-mad world?
Review the March 2018 report from the U.S. Energy Administration comparing
costs for energy-generation technologies and a new report on the State of Organic
Waste Management in North America with non-EPA generation estimates
Read about costs and power generation related to establishing 1MW solar farms
Production costs for this title were underwritten by McGill. Its use is permitted
for educational purposes if presented in its entirety and without editing or other
alteration. ©McGill Environmental Systems of N.C. Inc. Questions? Call McGill
HQ at 919-362-1161 or use a contact form at www.mcgillcompost.com.
Transforming waste. Rebuilding soils.®