King County’s solid waste disposal system and garbage customers all can benefit from new European research and technological innovation, Metropolitan King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert said today upon her return from a week-long study mission to Germany. She urged her colleagues and counterparts at King County’s cities to make a commitment to developing environmentally responsible alternatives to landfilling while also recapturing the energy contained in garbage.

“In the European Union, they have done a comprehensive job of incorporating wind energy, solar energy and waste-to-energy, and they are becoming integral to the energy system there,” said Councilmember Lambert. “They talked about how important it is not to be energy-dependent on other countries. Landfilling untreated waste in Europe now is banned, and the newest technology is being used to reclaim the energy, metals and other resources that used to be thrown away as garbage.

“In Europe, the disposal system is very clear in its emphasis on reducing, reusing, recycling and reclaiming,” she added. “Combined with new thermal technologies supported by the German Green Party, this has allowed the elimination of a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions from the solid waste disposal system.”

Participants in the study mission included officials from solid waste and energy agencies as well as elected officials. They met with top government and industry officials as well as several scientists in Berlin, Bonn and Hamburg in Germany and visited several waste processing plants.

“We had the privilege of meeting with one of the participants in the Kyoto Treaty on climate change and learning about the huge role that waste disposal practices play in global warming,” Councilmember Lambert said. “I am convinced that reclaiming the resources in our garbage is the right thing to do for King County, for our citizens and for the future of the planet.”

German waste management processes divert about 65 percent of garbage to recycling and reuse, and most of the remaining waste goes to thermal treatment plants. Most of the products from thermal reclamation are marketed, including steam, electricity, recovered metals, and inert bottom ash that is used to build roadbeds.

“It is very exciting to see what our friends across the ocean are doing with sustainable energy and reusing and conserving natural resources,” Councilmember Lambert said. “I feel like a got a PhD in a week. I will be sharing much of this information in workshop sessions later this spring, and during King County’s Solid Waste Comprehensive Plan update process. For our society, waste reclamation represents a chance to generate revenue through the sale of electricity and other reclaimed resources from our waste stream. This advanced technology will help us save money and will support a sustainable lifestyle and environment.”