Ever notice how advertisers will change the name of something to make you feel better about it?
Around 1980, the incineration industry re-branded itself “resource recovery.” Its main trade group was named “Institute for Resource Recovery.” By the mid-1980’s, “trash-to-steam” was popular, as if burning trash produced nothing but water vapor, instead of toxic emissions and toxic ash.
In 1991, the Institute for Resource Recovery became the Integrated Waste Services Association. Recently, the industry has attempted to link trash incineration to energy with labels such as Energy Recovery Council, Waste-to-Energy, and Energy from Waste; as if burning up resources does not really waste far more energy that it recovers.
We also have incineration technologies disguising themselves as “not incineration,” such as RDF pellets, gasification, pyrolysis and plasma incineration. Many cities have rejected proposals for such facilities because the salesmen’s claims could not be verified. Other cities have gone ahead and have found themselves struggling with reliability, emissions and profits.
Recycling creates far more jobs, and saves far more resources, than incinerating resources does. It doesn’t matter what you name it or exactly how you do it. Once built, incinerators compete for the same material that recycling programs want.
If you think incineration Is the answer, somebody asked the wrong question. It is certainly not the answer to resource recovery. It is also a very expensive answer to the electric generation question.
Diana Brown
Logansport
Opinion
PUBLIC FORUM: Playing the name game doesn’t change what it is
- Opinion
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SOUTHERN: District boundaries show lack of respect
I can imagine no real reason why a county like Cass would be split up into three districts except to show it a lack of respect.
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OUR VIEW: Are you prepared for a disaster?
As you read today’s final installment on disaster preparedness, which focuses on earthquakes and their very real threat right here in Indiana, we hope you take the message to heart and make the decision to prepare yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.
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KNISELY: What are odds of that?
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PUBLIC FORUM: Minimize our risk before making bet
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PUBLIC FORUM: Thanks for making event a success
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WOLFSIE: Writing on the walls
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HAYDEN: From good to great in education not the way
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First we learn the IRS has been targeting conservatives — applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were wrongly singled out for extra scrutiny. -
KITCHELL: Waste-to-energy a big waste of time
Had all of Logansport attended the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists Awards ceremony last month in Indianapolis, we all would have learned that the No. 1 editorial written in the state in the past year was about a subject that sounds familiar to Logansport residents.
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