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Industries and municipal authorities have always struggled with the mechanisms of waste reduction and the methods previously used for waste disposal are getting limited. Due to the rapid urbanization and industrialization, waste management concerns are becoming critical. Landfill sites are shrinking and hazardous wastes cannot be dumped in landfills without treating them. Therefore incineration is the most attractive option as compared to other disposal methods. Here is why:
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Volume of the waste incinerated is reduced by 90-95% and therefore the life of landfills increases. |
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Waste reduction is immediate. |
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Ash is sterile and can be safely disposed off in a normal landfill. This eliminates the need of having any special kind of landfill. In some cases, ash can even be recycled as construction aggregate. |
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Hazardous component of the waste is destroyed. |
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Waste can be incinerated on site without having the need of transporting it to some other place. |
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Emissions after combustion can be effectively controlled by installing air pollution control devices such as gas scrubbers etc. |
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Incinerators require relatively small area for installation unlike land disposal methods which require huge area. |
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The running cost can be reduced by recovering the heat in the form of generating electricity, hot water, steam etc. |
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Busting the myths
The use of incineration system is surrounded by some myths. Here we bust them:
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Incinerators emit harmful dioxins and furans. |
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Truth: The design and technology of incinerators and air pollution control devices has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past few years and this has resulted in drastic reduction of dioxins and furans. |
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Incinerators leave behind toxic residue. |
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Truth: The ash that is left behind is sterile and can be disposed of safely in a normal landfill. |
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