Santa Cruz, Ca is looking into a new technology to help them become greener. While Santa Cruz County does a good amount of recycling there is always some amount that is currently not recyclable. This new approach of technology by Adaptive Arc of Carlsbad, California uses a process to vaporize the waste into a gas. There is reportedly virtually no waste. What there is is supposedly suitable for use in cement and asphalt mixes.

The company states that an electrical arc of high current and voltage is passed through the rubbish that is not recyclable, which creates a gas. Arc- gasification results through a gasifier which separates into gas and an inert ash as the remainder. The process is intended to be a net generator of electricity depending on the waste component quality. Not all rubbish has the same energy value and composition. This process occurs at about 5500 degrees and is supposedly scalable for the size of the city or county’s needs.

While Santa Cruz has limitations on its expansion of new land fills due to high real estate costs, and citizen abhorrence on new sites, this may be a solution. The NIMBY process of trying to locate a new site failed to garner support after a few years of hard work. Hopefully this process will be a proving ground and can assist other communities in the future. People decry unproven things, but without risk, little gets accomplished. Think of all the drugs that have alleviated lots of mankind’s’ woes. Without human testing, we could not know what will work or not. Risk and willingness to change one’s thinking is paramount to success. Thinking out of the box is what makes Silicon Valley so successful and we all have the benefit of the devices the risk takers created. Not all things work, but one has to give it a try.

With 600 tons of daily rubbish, about a third of which is not recyclable, the need is great. I commend Santa Cruz County on it’s willingness to try new approaches. So what if we are trying something relatively novel. Early adopters and investors of all sorts of things often reap extraordinary benefits. With a purported up to 95% reduction in waste, there is little to lose in my mind. To those narrow minded folks, I say their thinking is a bunch of rubbish.

With the cost of Santa Cruz California real estate so high, the alternatives of finding suitable land, doing the EIR, the acquisition, and preparation of the site has to be in my guess a 5-10 year process. I think the cost will prohibitive.

Maybe should this technology become feasible some enterprising chap will tackle the Pacific Gyre and turn rubbish into profits? Maybe a mid pacific fueling station for ships can be created or off load the gas to ships plying the waters.

For more information on this topic on Santa Cruz landfill efforts follow the link or go to the Buena Vista landfill website. To learn more of the Santa Cruz, California area, go to my site and read my Santa Cruz Real Estate blog at www.properytinsantacruz.com