Burn, baby burn - Part 2

I learned so much on the garbage incineration plant tour, I couldn't limit myself to sharing about it in only one blog post.  I totally geeked out on all the information that was coming my way.  My husband thinks it is hilarious when I now refer to myself as a garbage geek.  But, I think the title fits seeing how enthralled I was to learn all about the garbage incineration process in Japan.

Following learning about the burning process, we heard about what happens to the smoke from all the burned goods.  Basically, it floats up and through a maze of 4 separate filtration systems to remove all the soot, dust, dioxins, mercury, hydrogen chlorides, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.  All the little bits of bad stuff is removed.  It then floats up and out the stack, which is the huge white tower most people associate with any type of incineration plant.  It still comes out of the stack as a white smoke, but that is because it is about 200°C and exits at a very rapid rate.

Being able to see and touch the filters from the catalyst reaction tower, which is the final filtering system, was really comforting.  It looks like it does a really good job cleaning the air.  The 1,120 filters in the catalyst reaction tower are replaced every 5-7 years. 

Up next they took us past the control room, which reminded me of a condensed version of NASA's mission control center.  There were various screens on the wall showing live feeds from throughout many of the machines, including the incinerator and smoke stack.  The computer screens were amass with information for the employees monitoring everything going on.

The guides then told us about the environmental mission of the plant.  From the dedication to releasing clean air to keeping solar panels on the rooftop, the environment is a priority.  The plant does not purchase any electricity to run the facility.  A steam turbine generator is used to create the electricity used in the plant.  All of the excess power is sold back to the city.  This keeps costs WAY down, which directly benefits the customers.  They even utilize a boiler to put thermal energy to beneficial use.  In fact, it is used to heat one of the city pools.

As the tour wrapped up, they had a game for the kids to play.  It was an Xbox Kinnect game where kids had to pick what goes to the recycle bin and what goes into the garbage can.  Basically, they were just running around like little maniacs, which they all loved.

My husband and I both exclaimed over how much we learned on the tour.  Our son reported that he loved the garbage trucks dumping their loads and watching the claw do it's job. 

Since going on the tour, I have told countless people about my experience.  I can't believe how incredibly excited I got about garbage.  But it was really, really fascinating.