Organic waste collection - HVC Groep
In the past few years there has been a lot of discussion about how effective it is to collect organic waste. We believe that sorted collection and processing of organic waste is not only about reducing the waste mountain and recycling waste (from organic waste to compost), but also about our climate.
We take the view that – except in certain specific situations – sorted processing of organic waste is:
- cheaper
- more environmentally friendly, given the available processing technologies, and
- already contributes to reducing the climate problem, with possibly far greater potential.
Worthwhile and necessary
Precisely because it is essential to tackle the climate problem, it is worthwhile and necessary to continue to collect organic waste separately and to study, develop and utilize any potential further gains.
Specific situations
It is true that very little organic waste is collected in some areas, particularly in urban areas. In these specific situations it is not worthwhile collecting organic waste separately. Not only because very little waste is supplied, but also because its quality is below standard. Sorted collection then becomes too expensive.
The great advantage of using organic waste to make compost is that it avoids the high energy cost of manufacturing artificial fertilizer. Compost is a natural soil improver, retaining minerals and moisture in the soil and thus reducing the quantity of fertilizer needed. At the end of the day, using compost also saves energy.
Biomass fuel
Organic waste is biomass and can be used to replace fossil fuels. This contributes to reducing the use of fossil fuels and thus helps combat the climate problem.
Developments
We are actively researching the possibilities of converting organic waste into a fuel. It is important that the conversion and application of this fuel is similar from an environmental point of view to the use of organic waste as compost. At the same time it will have to cost less than composting. This is not yet the case, but developments are rapid. Click here for more information.
The technologies we are researching, or following closely, are:- fermentation- drying and using the dried matter as fuel for other processes- gas extraction from prepared organic waste: gases from these processes have various applications in transport fuels- direct conversion into a type of oil which can, for example, be made into diesel fuel.
Sorted collection
In order to make the use of organic waste as biofuel possible, it is very important that we continue to collect organic waste separately, and if possible even more.