Power from Trash

In one of my earlier posts, I referred to a new method of generating power from turning trash into energy. I just read another story about it today here. Two plants in the U.S. are running into problems, but I hope they get up and running soon. Basically, what theses facilities do is gasify matter, harnessing power in the process and getting back a solid slag and a burnable gas as well. The plant uses two thirds of the power it produces to keep the process going, so there's a small net power gain.

Opponents say recycling is a better solution for our trash problems, but no one is saying the two are mutually exclusive. Precious metals from our old electronics, scrap iron, and other usable materials should definitely be recycled, but there's plenty more that will not biodegrade and can not be recycled (dirty diapers come to mind). If we can both get rid of our landfills and generate clean energy in the process, I don't see why we shouldn't. It would be a waste not to.