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| Jim Harnum |
Jim Harnum, the general manager of Toronto’s solid waste management services will be seeking city council’s permission this month to launch a comprehensive look into a long-term waste strategy. What that means is that Toronto — like so many cities around the world — is waking up to the common sense possibility of burning much of its garbage. Every option will be on the table. “Are we going to expand the landfill, are we going to buy another one, are we going to burn it, are we going to turn it into something else, can we wait until 2027 and see if there is some magic out there?” Harnum is quoted by the Toronto Star. “I don’t think we can wait. Anything we do in this sector takes 12 to 15 years.” One of the things Harnum is talking about is the growing acceptance of the sound science of generating energy from waste as the garbage is incinerated. It’s called Waste to Energy (WtoE). Public opinion polls show Toronto residents are almost evenly divided on incineration. It’s easy to understand. Conventional wisdom has opposed burning garbage for decades. It’s almost a touchstone of the recycling gospel taught in schools. Former Mayor David Miller was deeply opposed to WtoE. He convinced city council to continue the practice of dumping garbage in landfill even after Toronto stopped shipping it to Michigan. It is now buried in a landfill near London, Ontario. Previous post.
