Re: anyone ever heard of WTE incinerator with closed loop system?

[Jackie Hunt Christensen <jchristensen@igc.apc.org>]

  I think this is what you're referring to. Whenever I hear "Louisiana" and
  "incineration" in the same breath, it makes me nervous!
  
  
   Firms Propose to Burn Waste New Technology Touted as
   Clean
  
   The New Orleans Times-Picayune
   Fri, Sep 19 1997
  
   The River Region Caucus, a three-parish conglomerate
   that discusses issues concerning St. Charles, St. John
   the Baptist and St. James parishes, heard a
   presentation Thursday night for a long-term solution to
   solid waste disposal.
  
   Chip Efferson, director of the Environmental Closed
   Loop Incineration Process, told representatives from
   the three parishes that a plant jointly constructed by
   his company and EnerWaste would dispose of the
   parishes' waste without clogging landfills or emitting
   harmful gases.
  
   EnerWaste, a Washington state company, specializes in
   incinerating municipal waste. Efferson's company uses
   "closed-loop" technology to dispose of hazardous
   materials. Efferson said the combination would let
   plant operators destroy the three parishes'
   nonhazardous waste and earn supplemental income by
   disposing of tires.
  
   The combination of the two technologies has never been
   attempted before and representatives from both
   companies want the River Parishes to be one of the
   first areas in the world to try it.
  
   Efferson told the caucus the plant could accept 300
   tons of municipal waste a day and charge the parishes
   $28 per ton, a fee that would remain constant for at
   least three years.
  
   The parishes would pay nothing toward the plant's $30
   million construction cost.
  
   "We fully intend to raise 100 percent of the capital,"  Ê
   EnerWaste representative David Reed said.
  
   But even though local governments would not be expected
   to pay for construction, Efferson said the contract
   would have to be long-term for plant operators to
   profit.
  
   "We would need a 20-year commitment," he said.
  
   Efferson assured the caucus that the plant would be
   safe, so safe, he said, that nothing would be emitted
   into the air. Ash from incineration, he said, would be
   used to make concrete.
  
   "The beauty of the system is, at the end we come out
   with usable products," he said. "The air quality
   permits are filled in with zeroes."
  
   Some residents at the meeting expressed concern that
   the technologies Efferson and Reed were proposing had
   never been combined. But St. Charles Parish President
   Chris Tregre said the proposal deserves to be studied.
  
   "It has potential," he said, "and as long as there's no
   financial burden," it's worth examining. "The ultimate
   solution to solid waste disposal is going to come from
   new technology."
  
   (Copyright 1997)
  
  
  Jackie Hunt Christensen
  Food Safety Project Director
  Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
  2105 1st Avenue South
  Minneapolis,  MN 55404
  612-870-3424 (direct line)
  612-870-4846 (fax)
  e-mail: <jchristensen@igc.apc.org>
  IATP's Endocrine Disrupter Resource Center: http://www.sustain.org/edrc