Wednesday
Jul032013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 7:10 PM Entries by Andrew (376)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 7:10 PM 
Monday
Jul012013
Monday, July 1, 2013 at 2:25 PM Happy Canada Day!
Thursday
Jun272013
Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 4:25 PM Beastwich
Tomorrow's Friday, it's time for #Beastwich! A look back at last week ft. @gilltrish @BeastRestaurant #GoodEats. Glasgow #GLA themed sandwich!
Sandwich: Scotch, Braised Rabbit, Bacon, Peas, Tartar Sauce. Side: Potato Chips. Dessert: Sponge Toffee.
Thursday
Jun202013
Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 5:55 PM Garbage is money, and some sort of burning methodology
A friend sent me a link to a recent @NationalPost article highlighting #Toronto 's Mayor's push for turning the city's trash into cash, and asked for my thoughts on it. After our discussion, I thought I'd also share it with all of you.
Photo by Brian Cliff Olguin for The New York Times
The NP article doesn't actually talk much about what they're considering, they go off on some tangent about bags and crap like that. So basically mayor wants to burn garbage for money by selling off the energy generated from it, there are a bunch of different technologies but it all falls under the category of "Energy from Waste" (EFW). What the article fails to mention is that Toronto is, probably, one of the largest municipalities not to use or have a EFW facility, Peel Region was the first in Ontario, and I believe York and Durham Region have partnered up to build one that will be opening up in the near future, Peel is also in the process of building other EFW facility to replace the Algonquin Power facility.
From an environmental perspective, EFWs are a good alternative to a landfill. This is where the left-wing pinko hippies say "but why not just recycle everything". Sure, in a perfect world we will, but we don't. We live in a disposable world, many of us try our best to do our parts, but inevitably there will still be some waste. EFWs help in diverting waste from our landfills and turn it in to a useful product by generating electricity, heat, and steam through the "burning" of garbage and redirect these products back into the grid to power and heat homes and businesses. The ash that is left over is used as landfill cover, and can even be used as building materials for roads. Additionally, emissions from EFWs are tightly regulated, emission in general in this country and others are tightly regulated, and with the implementation of scrubbers, filters, and new EFW technology, hazardous emissions are kept extremely low. Cars on the road create more pollution than an EFW facility.
This technology is popular in Europe since they're mostly small countries that have spare no land, so there is no room for landfills and must find alternatives. Europe, in general, has some of the most robust and effective diversion programs (recycling) in the world, but there's a limit to how much can be diverted and there is alway some kind of waste. What is left is used in EFWs. A great example of how effective a highly participating population is in waste diversion plus the use of an EFW is the city of Oslo which now has a shortage of waste to keep it's EFW running, and is reaching out to neighbouring countries, and even across the ocean to the US for waste. This technology has been a round for decades and you've probably never seen them.
The acceptance of EFWs in Europe is partly due to some facilities being designed and constructed underground, way underground, and all you see is a two-story building with a small smoke stack and steam pipes. The building is designed to fit in with the surrounding area and all the noise from the operations remain underground. One of the most predominant EFWs in Paris is built in the downtown within spitting distance of some of that city's most famous landmarks.
Thats all well and done, but how much does this technology cost? How does a city pay for a facility like this?
Here's a quick financial breakdown of a feasibility study that was completed for a new EFW facility, please keep in mind these numbers are from 2008/09.
Capital Costs are $313 million (2008 estimate), additional $20.5 million for land, approvals, site servicing and procurement. With inflation and construction financing included over a 5 year period, total estimated cost of a new EFW would be $387 million.
Net Operating Costs are estimated at $15 million/year with an additional $6 million/year for residue disposal, which works out to be something like $85/tonne, compared to hauling it off to a landfill which is about $60/tonne.
Annual Revenues are expected to be $12.1 million received from sale of electrical power at a market rate of $80/MWh plus an additional $1.5 million received from sale of metals (ferrous and non-ferrous).
Timeline of a current EFW is expected to take 5 years for approvals and construction, and the facility is expected to have an operating period of 25 years with 90% uptime. However, many, if not all, facilities operate well beyond the 25 year period.
If you do the math, the facility costs more to build and run than it will in generating revenues. That's fine because the revenues offset most of the costs, and we're talking about the public sector. They're not in it to make money, they're in it to provide a service to it's residents that can benefit and promote sustainable development. However, Toronto presents a unique challenge. Where the frak are you going to build something like this? Almost every inch of Toronto is developed and it's going to be a hard sell to residents. What I would expect to see is Toronto partner with another municipality to offset the costs, they might even partner with Peel since I don't think they've finalized plans for their new facility…
National Post article
http://s.aneb.ca/122v7N8
Peel Waste Disposal
http://s.aneb.ca/180uR5g
York Durhan EFW
http://s.aneb.ca/19kTIi6
Paris SYCTOM – Isséane Recycling Centre and Energy from Waste
http://s.aneb.ca/16Q5ksq
Oslo importing waste
http://s.aneb.ca/19UI7Jl
Wednesday
Jun192013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 5:00 PM Beastwich
Vistiting Berlin #BER for #Beastwich @BeastRestaurant. #GoodEats
Sandwich: Sauerbraten, Braised Red Cabbage, Mustard. Side: German Potato Salad. Dessert: Black Forest Cake.
Tuesday
Jun182013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 4:35 PM Cheesecake Take 2
My take on @jbchang's Luscious Cheesecake with a bluberry compote and fresh raspberries. #GoodEats
Slowly getting a hang of this thing...not bad for a second attempt.
Thursday
Jun132013
Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 4:45 PM Beastwich
Ahead of tomorrows #beastwich from @BeastRestaurant, we traveled to Lima #LIM last week. #GoodEats
Sandwich: Braised Pork Shoulder, Salsa Criolla, Lettuce, Mayo. Side: Lima Bean Salad with Feta (Solterito Salad). Dessert: Arroz Zambito (Rice Pudding with Pecans).
Wednesday
Jun122013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 6:00 PM Snack Time
@la_carnita #GoodEats.
Mushroom Tostada ft. Sautéed Cremini, Oyster, and Porcini Mushrooms with Crema, Chipotle Tot Sauce, Corn Salsa, Green Onions, and Micro Greens.
5-0: Coffee and Donut Paleta
Tuesday
Jun112013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:35 PM Flour, too
Excited to finally receive my copy of @jbchang's newest cookbook, highlighting some of the most popular and asked for recipes from her Flour Bakery & Café.
Just flipping through it last night, I know I'm going to love this book. Looking forward to meeting her in July!
