We were watching "How Do They Do It" in Discovery Channel and voila, the possible solution to the current power crisu in the Philippines is right there, staring us in the face.
The episode features the making of an artificial island in Singapore. It was pretty straightforward; you don't have to be rocket scientist to understand the fundamental concept.
Simply put, the island is a large underwater landfill. Obviously, it's no ordinary landfill. You don't just dump the garbage in this landfill. All that trash first goes through a process that addresses several concerns in Singapore: waste management (getting of all that trash), power management (using garbage as fuel), and future investments (the island itself).
So first, all the trash is collected then segregated. Recyclables are to be recycled, the others are incinerated. That should be alot.
Then, truckloads of the non-recyclables are sent to the incinerators. Now here's the good part. The incinerators double as power plants, supplying part of the electrical needs of the country. The trash serves as fuel that generates electricity. So your trash today provides power to your lightbulb a few days later.
Then, the ashes from the incinerator is sent by the shiploads to the landfill which, in the future, will become a new island, providing more living and/or commercial space for the country.
At this point, I hope you can see how this can benefit the Philippines.
While our landfills are choking up the land around it, this landfill actually creates land. We no longer have to coerce the bayans in Rizal to swallow up the trash of Manila. Instead we use all that trash to provide electricity which is the biggest concern at the moment -- besides the election.
Now for those Clean Air Act supporters out there, not all incinerators are as dirty as the ones presented to the Senate roughly a decade ago. This current artificial island project in Singapore is proof of that.
Oh, and by the way, landfills do not necessarily mean that there is no air pollution. You don't believe me? Well then. Go to a landfill and smell the aroma of the place. See if the air is polluted or not.
It has many benefits. Don't really have to explain it, right?
We have lots of trash. We can always use another reclaimed area or two. Or at least reduce the need to desecrate more land as landfills. The major component lacking is the incinerator-power plants.
Then again, I was wondering whether we could actually use the current trash that we have as the fuel? I mean why not? Garbage burns just like coal.. Oh well. Have no idea how powerplants in the Philippines work nowadays. Just something to think about.
BTW, for reference, check out "How Do They Do It" season 6 episode 18.
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