Reflection on Lee County Waste to Energy Facility Trip

About a week and a half ago, we visited the Waste to Energy Facility of Lee County.  During this trip we had the unique opportunity to observe and learn about the inner workings of this facility.  In particular, we saw what kinds of waste is dealt with (and the nuances in dealing with different types of waste), as well as the tools, mechanisms, and structures involved in the process of converting waste into energy.

Waste enters the facility after being deposited into a large room by dump trucks.  From there, a crane picks up large quantities of waste, which is then processed in a variety of ways.  A large, magnetic rod is used to retrieve certain metallic components from waste, while workers might retrieve specific items from a heap of trash flowing down a conveyor belt.  Some of the waste gets sent to a combustion chamber, which generates energy in the form of electricity.  This electricity is used to power the facility, as well as about 30,000 homes throughout Lee County.  The vaporous billows rising upward from the chimneys are actually just steam, rather than a toxic smog seen as a by-product from some other industrial facilities.

The room where waste is dropped off at the facility.

I was quite fascinated by the amount of forethought that went into the design of the building, particularly the pollution control components, which took up a sizeable portion of the building, but ensure sustainability of its operations.  Moreover, I was shocked to learn that, on average, one person produces 1,000 pounds of trash per year.  Although I do not track how much trash I throw away, this seems like a rather large amount – I suppose it adds up!

A scale model of the facility.