By becoming the province &/or country's kidney all of these net economic and social benefits will never disappear, because based on current trends, our throwaway society would continue to supply a lifetime of incinerator feedstock.

As part of our contract with the provincial and federal governments to require local governments to deliver us guaranteed tonnage of waste flow to incinerate, we would also require a garbage bag manufacturer be created in Sudbury, creating even more jobs. All cities providing garbage would use our transparent garbage bags. Blue bags for dry waste and Green bags for wet waste. All bags will contain barcode technology so we have the capability of tracing where the garbage came from, and all unauthorized garbage items will be returned to the city of origin.

Creating manufacturer plants in Sudbury that makes clothing, futons, shoe soles, nails, tin cans, oil based lubricants, hydraulic, gear or transformer oil, aluminum, rubber and steel products out of recycled materials is not difficult to do. It's just a matter of money. A manufacturing plant would have a positive ongoing impact on our city, from new jobs to adding new ratepayers to our tax roll. It is transportation costs that make a manufacturer not interested in setting up shop in Sudbury.

However, having a build in low-cost reverse supply chain dynamic, and low cost electricity for production, would make Sudbury a very attractive location for any manufacturer, thus the additional benefits of this project is underscored. Even if we only produce the raw material from the waste for a manufacturer elsewhere this project is still a moneymaker. Producing and providing low cost electricity would also attract other manufacturers to Sudbury that are unrelated to this waste industry, which would create even more employment.

State-of-the-Art Waste to Energy Plant in Spain

This massive "Green Acres" indoor properly ventilated eco-industrial "Waste to Wealth" Science Park would not become an eyesore nor would we have smelly garbage and seagulls everywhere, as we would employ a "Just-in-Time" delivery system of garbage fuel. A just-in-time inventory system is designed to ensure that materials arrive at a facility just when they are needed so that the storage is minimized. Thus, this eco-park would not be plagued by the syndrome known as NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) or LULU (locally unacceptable land use).

Sudbury has lived in the smokestack economy for over 100 years, so returning the Twin Stacks to action would not be a major hurdler to overcome. If Inco announced they were shipping 10 million tonnes of ore to Sudbury to smelt every year everyone would be cheering. This project is much better, because part of profits and perks end up in citizens pockets; not in a private business owners pocket; especially a business that is owned by a company in Brazil.

Inco’s smelting techniques used to be very inefficient; today it’s not. Thanks to technology, Inco dramatically cleaned the waste gases before pumping them up the Superstack; removing around 90% of the sulphur dioxide. Incinerators have cleaned up their act and come of age as well. Now our turn and it's time for Citizens in Sudbury to come of age, too. Incinerators are sustainability in its truest and finest form. "Green Acres" would not only solve the garbage and landfill problems, but also significantly alleviate the current energy crisis.

It should also be pointed out just how close Inco’s tailing pond is from a residential area. Though its contents are held back by a retaining wall, this stuff is pretty much right there in some people's backyards, and no one complains, and no one is calling for a ban.

State-of-the-Art Waste to Energy Plant in West Indies

The cause and nature of some obstacles to industrial development are imposed by elected vote-seeking officials, faceless bureaucrats, pressure groups, Greens, and grass root groups who pass themselves off as community spirited activists.

The same grass roots reformers who might oppose this project would be the very same people protesting if Inco announced it was closing down its operations and smokestack . Employed people usually oppose this hotly debated topic yet these employed anti growth protesters are also the very ones who complain about property tax increases to pay for increased welfare costs due to high unemployment.

This project provides a lifetime supply of material to market and helps create the resource base necessary to secure exciting new workscapes and significant improvement in economic security and quality of life.

Therefore, we must work together and tap valuable niche market areas and give Sudbury a much-needed economic face-lift by exploiting the practical side of idealism to fuel growth, protect the environment, and safe crack our future.

Moreover, in a country where opinion polls regularly show that 80% of the population consider themselves to be committed to environmental protection, we should be able to design the project to remedy any social concerns by having members of the community and environmentalists involved from the very inception of the venture.

State-of-the-Art Waste to Energy Plant in Germany

The goal is to create a "humanistic eco-industrial technology science park," a "digital dump," whose purpose is not just to produce electricity, but also to create a "cleaner economy" with a "positive environment" for the people that work there, the community, and the people who would tour the facilities. Conceptually and physically, the centre would express a redefinition of mans relationship with the environment. The plant must be state of the art in terms of environmental sustainability, thus high-performance Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), Canada's "Green Building Standards," would be used, including, but not limited to, a vegetated roofing system that reduces storm water runoff, provides additional insulation, and reduces "heat island" effects.

Understanding the various paths through the plant, from how the garbage gets sent from one area to the next, to how people work or tour the facility is of great importance in shaping the plant. Sky lighting can be incorporated that would include "daylight-harvesting" sensors that automatically adjust lighting depending on the amount of natural light available. This would not only reduce the amount of lighting required, but can also make interiors wonderful spaces to work in.

Another issue that affects community relationships is the increased road traffic of waste collection vehicles transporting waste to the incinerator. Some of this public opposition is now being defused by offering "host fees" or other compensation to the resident’s whose host a WtE plant in their neighborhood.

In our case, transport trucks would not enter the city core, or Coniston, as a new transport / employee only road will be constructed from Highway 17 to the plant, with a strict photo radar enforced 30 mph speed limit. Trucks and trains would dump indoors where the garbage is sorted then incinerated.

While on the highways, Citizens would not know the difference between transports delivering garbage from a transport delivering food. And, with up to 2000+ employees, the spin off jobs in Coniston at restaurants and stores would be extensive.

Another factor worth noting is that heat generated in the plant can be harvested and sold to homeowners in Coniston at extremely low cost for being the "host neighbourhood," while some of the steam can be sold to district heating systems for our adjacent onsite industrial manufacturing customers.

There is no right or wrong place for an incinerator but with prevailing winds from the West, and the bulk of the city to the East, the Twins Stack site is a great location. However, this project does not even need to be located in Coniston, and maybe the old stacks cannot be salvaged; but if we can recycle the Twin Stacks than we should do so. Nevertheless, with the highways, bypass and rail line right next to the smelter property it is ideal place for such a venture; with or without using the stacks. If they are usable, however, it would reduce start up costs. Today, part of the Twin Stacks is surrounded by a "Green Golf Course," which is perfect for the humanistic environment we're trying to create at this eco-industrial science park, and 9 new holes could be added to the course.

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[ 09 July 2007: Message edited by: Sudbury ]