Lee County Waste to Energy Facility Journal

We have now taken a trip to the Lee County Waste to Energy Facility, and while there we were given a presentation and a tour of the facility. Throughout the world we have overpopulation, and this comes with the production of a large amount of waste. In the past this waste would be thrown into a dump and then this would eventually be burned but with little concern for the environment. We still had to get rid of the waste but a way to dispose of it while also considering the environment and the people around had to be developed. One such way is through the use of a waste to energy facility much like the one we visited in Lee County. 

Ex. 1

Here waste is still burned but a lot is put into preventing a lot of carbon from entering the environment, and the burning of this trash in itself is used to produce energy. This is done by the burning trash heating up liquid producing steam and thus pressure in a system that turns turbines. This water is condensed and used again, but the electricity is fed into the electrical system to the highest bidder. The book also mentions this method as "one alternative strategy, known as combined heat and power, treats 'waste' heat as a resource rather than as a waste." They also recycle but what I did not know that their goal is to produce materials of the purest kind rather than materials with a mixed composition. This makes it difficult in recycling and according to Mr. Mueller, as many which are for recycling often times are unfit, and it is largely unknown to the population. 

Ex. 2

I was also happy to hear that the burned waste material is actual able to be used as mulch and is actually given out freely in a few locations within lee county. As for the material that cannot be used as mulch it is placed evenly spaced out on land, which might seem like it is just placing it back into the environment but the space that it takes up is much less than it was originally. This makes it so that we no longer have to use more land for the purpose of waste dumping. On another note, they also collect ferrous and non-metal ferrous, this may seem like simply collecting for a profit but in doing this they are lowering the need for collecting more from the earth as they can collect around 50 to 70 tons of these metals every day. Actually, according to the book "modern steelmaking often takes place in minimills, using scrap steel rather than iron ore as its primary ingredient."

Ex. 3

Paniagua, Ricardo. (Ex. 1) Waste to Energy Facility, 14 Mar.

Paniagua, Ricardo. (Ex. 2) Waste to Energy Facility, 14 Mar.

Paniagua, Ricardo. (Ex. 3) Waste to Energy Facility, 14 Mar.

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021. ProQuest eBook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fgcu/detail.action?docID=6457832.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FGCU Sustainability & Food Forest Journal

Image
The question that was asked during this field trip was that of sustainability and how we can change our habits in an effort to better achieve this. We were asked what we thought the definition was, and I believe that it is defined as actions taken in order to remain here while taking into account other life living alongside us, and those who are to come and experience the future that we will leave them.  As for the chapter in our textbook, I'd say that the sentence “we are part of linked systems of humans and nature, so the study of sustainability goes beyond environmentalism,” made me think more so about the topic and how it relates to me. It reminds me of the work the school has done in order to maintain balance between our progress and nature which is present in mere compactors which prevents the presence of trash and thus keeps the environment clean. Ex. 1 The book also mentions “the new domain is a new stable state, and the change is often irreversible,” which brought my thoug
Read more

Lover's Key State Park Journal

Image
This time around we took a trip to Lovers Key, and we were asked to take note of the environment and its wildlife and how this relates to what we have learned in class. We as humans have for years taken more and more of the territory that once belonged to the wild animals, and for a time this did not seem like something to truly worry about. However, after we began to see the toll, we were taking on our surroundings and how the animals have been suffering is when we began to act. Of course, there has been a lot of information about global warming being given to the public, but we do not show the other effects of our carelessness.  Ex. 1 Although there are many routes we can take, one such route that was present in our trip was conserving natural habitats, which was done with the coastal ecosystem. This land is home to a number of species each with their own importance within their ecosystem. If one species were to fall there would be significant changes to the ecosystem which is why so
Read more

Pine Manor Journal

Image
In this field trip we were again asked what sustainability means and what are the ways in which we can improve in regard to this. I have never considered myself as a very sustainable individual granted. I do try and limit my effects to such things but nonetheless after having gone to pine manor it opened my mind to other solutions that can help limit our impact on our planet.  One thing that tends to be out of our hands in one way or another is that of food, which is what pine manor takes into account and helps with in its community. This can be seen in their garden in which they grow food to be donated to those in need, while also providing a place for volunteer labor in which residents are able to harvest food for themselves when assisting in the garden.  Ex. 1 This garden has a variety of vegetables, each of which can be substituted for most vegetables that would be bought at the store. This prevents a great amount of car fumes from being produced not only from the gas cars of the i
Read more