What are the risks and benefits associated with gasification of municipal solid waste?
Environmental Impact: Gasification has the potential to significantly reduce Red Deer’s green house gas emission to the atmosphere. It is green technology that turns waste into usable energy that helps us reduce our environmental impact. The plant is expected to process 200 tonnes of waste a day and turn that into enough electricity to power 200 average sized homes for 55 days. Adoption of this method will not eliminate the need for a landfill but for every 10,000 tonnes per year diverted, the landfill life will be extended approximately three to four years. In addition, The City is required to meet both financial and environmental obligations with regards to continued operations of our landfill. In other provinces across the country, regulations are making it difficult to site new or expand existing landfills. This direction change of legislation may eventually occur in Alberta too. The existing landfill, which was opened in 2001, was an involved process and siting a new landfill in t
