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Types
of Incineration Based on Waste
Handled
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Incineration
facilities are individually authorized to handle one or more specific
categories of waste. Most are so-called "dedicated"
plants, i.e. handling only one category or material:
Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW):
refers to the domestic refuse and similar routinely collected
from homes, businesses and public areas by, or on behalf of, local
authorities.
Mass
Burn Incinerators burns garbage as it is received, while Refuse
Derived Fuel ( RDF) incinerators burn wastes that have been
processed to uniform size and have had the non-combustible material
removed.
Chemical
Waste/Hazardous Waste:
chemical waste is not a legally defined category, but would often
constitute "hazardous waste" within the terms of UK/EU
legislation144 . Often referred to as "hazardous chemical
waste" or "toxic waste", chemical waste refers
to toxic/dangerous chemicals which are collected from industrial
and commercial installations for disposal (usually on-site) in
specialized, high temperature plants. There are currently over
40 plants in the UK, which are licensed to handle this waste,
of which 5 are dedicated commercial ("merchant") facilities.
Clinical
Waste: includes any waste which consists wholly or
partly of human or animal-derived material which, without special
treatment, may present a risk of infection. It is derived from
a wide variety of medical, clinical or veterinary practices and
research establishments. Because of the health risk, the government
recommends incineration as the method of disposal for all clinical
waste that cannot safely be diverted into the municipal waste
stream.
Sewage
Sludge:
This includes the solid residues from municipal sewerage facilities,
and screened-out debris/litter. In 1996 there were 7 dedicated
facilities licensed to handle sewage sludge, all owned by water
companies. As a result of the commitment in 1992 to ban sewage
disposal at sea by 1999, the number of the licenses is expected
to increase at least by 11 by 1999. Licenses may also be granted
for co-disposal at existing MSW plants.
Additionally, there are various other components of general waste
arising for which special facilities have been developed, including:
Agricultural
Waste: small-scale, on-farm incinerators of animal
(particularly poultry) carcasses, litter and offal, and of low-grade
packaging, is the most common means of disposal for such materials.
Additionally, a number of farms have installed dedicated, whole-bale
straw-burners to heat farm buildings.
Larger,
dedicated WTE plants are currently being developed which utilize
either animal carcasses and offal, poultry litter or straw bales.
Tyre
Burners: The incineration of tyres for the commercial
generation of electricity in dedicated facilities is still somewhat
experimental.
Crematoria:
Burning
a variety of wastes are cement kilns: cement production is highly
energy intensive and cement kilns have been increasingly trying
to burn wastes - including hazardous wastes - rather than conventional
fuels. This has been and continues to be a highly controversial
development and is being widely opposed by communities and environmentalists.
Friends
of the Earth's Incineration Campaign Guide, December 1997
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