Amsterdam’s Waste to Energy Plant

Jun 15, 2010 3 Comments by
Perhaps it is not exciting and it gives no “wow” factor, but there is a form of energy that surrounds us.  It is a nuisance and at the same time it is plentiful and useful.

I am talking about garbage. Towards the end of my time in Amsterdam, I toured the city’s Waste to Fuel Power Plant (WFPP) thanks to Harmen Veldman, who I met during my first day on a city-led sustainability tour among the canals.

A small country like the Netherlands does not have the luxury of landfill space.  Municipal solid waste is highly taxed, so this country of 15 million people, who use just about every square inch of land available, had to find an alternative.  That alternative is not yet recycling:  glass and paper are reprocessed, but not metal or plastic.

Each day about 600 trucks from Amsterdam and 18 other cities drive up a huge ramp to the WFPP, which lies in the western dockyards of this city of 750,000.  The two incineration plants, built in 1993 and 2007, turn about 1.4 million tons of garbage into electricity.

More details about the plant can be found in my Triple Pundit article.  The tour of the WFPP was wild—the highlight was watching the resorting of the trash in the huge bunker.  It reminded me of those toy machines you see at arcades or casinos that kids try to play in getting that silly plush toy—only instead of plush toys, giant yellow jaws of death resort and restack the garbage as it begins its decent into incineration Hades.

Is this a perfect solution?  Well, I don’t know of a perfect energy solution—there is one ton of CO2 for one ton of garbage (but not the other harmful gases like SoX and NoX).  In the end, you have a marginal amount of waste, and for a country with limited space, this is the path they must take.  The new WFPP has a 32% energy efficiency—64% of that garbage ends up recycled, into metal or building materials.  Only about 2% ends up as waste, mostly as flue gas residue that is deposited into empty salt mines in Germany.

I’ll cobble together a low-budget Flip Video soon.  In the meantime, I’m curious what you think.  Garbage incinerators do not have many fans.  But as landfill space disappears, and population increases—there are not that many viable options.

energy

About the author

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Currently he is in the United Arab Emirates exploring opportunities. He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, and now The Guardian , where he writes about waste, water, low carbon initiatives, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon lives in San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 50+ countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.

3 Responses to “Amsterdam’s Waste to Energy Plant”

  1. Farewell to the Black Stallion | greengopost.com says:

    [...] Note: I am almost home, but there will be more news coming in the next few days.  Stay tuned for a waste-to-energy power plant tour, thoughts on Amsterdam’s future public transportation options, and the issues involved when [...]

  2. Finding a New Use for Those World Cup Vuvuzelas | greengopost.com says:

    [...] them to Amsterdam where they can be incinerated in the city’s waste-to-fuel power plant, ensuring that they never make those loud bellowing noises [...]

  3. Waste Management Invests US$22M In Plastic-to-Oil Company | greengopost.com says:

    [...] reuse or “upcycle” programs will not address the problem.  Incineration for energy is one alternative, but many folks are loathe to have a garbage-to-electricity plant near their neighborhoods.  One [...]

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