A former district centre manager is hoping that energy-from-waste technology could provide Croydon with low-cost, free energy for decades to come.
Jason Grant: offering an alternative to the incinerator
Jason Grant is taking the initiative, offering what he says is a cleaner, greener alternative to the council’s own plans for a £1 billion incinerator at Beddington Lane.
“I first learned about this technology the back end of 2011 and couldn’t believe how good it was and instantly saw how this could help Croydon and the surrounding boroughs, instead of the planned incinerator which would only cause more harm than good,” Grant told Inside Croydon.
“What really grabbed my attention was the fact that the company behind it is still young, so if Croydon were to adopt this innovative technology it would also become a leader in the market of renewable energy and green technology with absolutely no toxic waste or residue, because this process generates bio-ethanol from the waste which brings a huge return on the investment.
“It is self-sustaining so there is no drain on the current resources; but actually improves our way of life by generating enough electricity to maintain possibly the whole borough.”
The technology in question has been developed by inventor Philip Hall, and this week he and Grant will be making presentations to local MPs and councillors from Croydon, Merton, Sutton and Kingston, the four boroughs in the south London waste partnership who want to bulldoze their way into building an incinerator in a highly populated suburban area on the borders of our borough.
Hall sniffed out the commercial potential for his energy-from-waste scheme by examining the noxious fumes usually given off at landfill sites, which have long been known to be a source of methane from decaying material.
And in the past he has effectively accused Croydon and their partner councils of “cheating” the public and the environment over the incinerator proposal.
“Councils have been accused of ‘cheating’ the penalties by using incineration to dispose of the rubbish, or buying other authorities’ surplus allowances. Ultimately, the cost, both environmentally and financially, falls back on to the everyday tax-payer,” Hall said in an interview with a trade magazine.
“It is the responsibility of local authorities to deal with this problem appropriately, finding a green and economic solution to this societal burden.”
Hall says that his technology, which he calls Energy from Waste, has undergone independent testing.
“Research into noxious odours produced from waste recycling plants led to a train of thought about how to address the pressing global issue of landfill, and how to combat the ever-increasing amounts of rubbish we generate. The obvious answer is preventing waste generation but this is unrealistic, it’s like decreeing ‘don’t use electricity; live in the dark; no more consumer spending; stop production of new goods’.
“It sometimes takes relatively simple ideas based on existing technologies, perhaps traditionally applied to function in ‘non-green’ sectors that can be updated or tweaked to address our pressing environmental needs.
“We cannot avoid rubbish and therefore need an environmentally approved way of managing it.”
For more on Hall and his alternative to incinerator, click here
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