From trash to cash: Toronto could get into the incineration business

At some point, while watching truckloads of trash being carted out of the city to a near-overflowing landfill, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had an idea. Burn it.

As the adage goes, one man's trash is another's treasure.

It wasn't Ford's idea, exactly. It was a question raised by the city's public works and infrastructure committee’s plan to address Toronto’s waste disposal strategy. But Ford was on board, even if he didn't entirely understand the technical aspects of the plan.

“Some sort of burning methodology, you can call it gasification, incineration, I’m not quite sure. The professionals will give us that advice,” Ford said, according to the National Post.

“But as you know, 70% of the world already has some sort of method in place, that they turn their garbage into energy. They make money on their garbage. I’ve always said that garbage is money. When you see truck loads of garbage going down (Highway) 401, it’s like truck loads of $100 bills and we have to turn that garbage into money. So, yes, I would definitely want to see some sort of whatever technology is out there."

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The burning methodology being used elsewhere is indeed called incineration and occasionally gasification, depending on the process used. It involves the combustion of organic material found in garbage to create energy.

Once considered a pollutant-heavy process, incineration is getting at bit of its groove back. New facilities include filters and use cleaning processes that live up to some of the most stringent environmental standards. It’s not a slam dunk, and shouldn’t replace recycling and reduction strategies, but incineration has a role. And Toronto wouldn’t be the first to jump on the bandwagon.

A new energy-to-waste plant is currently under construction in Clarington, Ont., about an hour east of the city. It will be capable of generating enough electricity to fuel 10,000 homes.

Another incinerator exists in Brampton, and Ottawa is ready to join the party.

The Canadian Energy-From-Waste Coalition says that currently only about three per cent of the country’s garbage is fed to such facilities – which are still rare in Canada. Such facilities are more common elsewhere. Japan treats 75 per cent of its waste, and America has as many as 79 plants in operation.

Northern Europe has also embraced the practice.

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The New York Times reports that Oslo, the Norwegian capital of 1.4 million people, heats about half of the city by burning garbage.

The practice is so integral to Oslo's energy strategy that it buys garbage from other cities and countries. Some of its garbage comes from England and Ireland. They even want to start importing garbage from America.

Incineration is growing to a point in Northern Europe that burgeoning programs in Sweden, Germany and elsewhere are starting to cut into Oslo's supply.

In short, demand for garbage outweighs its availability. One Norwegian environmentalist even tells the Times that the need for garbage is poised to threaten the country’s commitment to waste reduction.

Toronto doesn’t have to go that far, but it is certainly worth considering incineration in the grand scheme of things. We can’t keep dumping garbage forever. In fact, our current landfill is expected to be at capacity by 2029.

On one hand, that sure makes for an impressive garbage mountain. On the other, it is certainly worth considering ways to cut that down in size.