China built the world's largest garbage power plant

The city of Shenzhen, China, is planning to build the world's largest waste generation power plant with a capacity of 5,000 tons per day.

According to Science Alert, the burning process that converts at least one-third of garbage into useful electricity is not the best option for the environment due to the amount of CO2 released, but it can shrink the landfill and The number of illegal landfills is increasing in Shenzhen. Last year, one of the garbage dumps here killed dozens of people when it suddenly collapsed.

Design of the world's largest waste generation power plant in China.(Photo: SHL Architects).

Expected to be completed and put into operation in 2020, the plan does not focus on electricity production, but aims to find solutions to the problem of waste disposal today.

According to Adele Peters in Fast Company, the unit in charge of construction, the new incinerator is one of 300 waste-to-electricity plants that the Chinese government is planning to build in the next three years. Although burning is controversial about environmental benefits, many countries around the world are adopting this process.

" Waste-to-electricity plants must be an energy solution. They are a way to dispose of garbage and use this process to generate electricity in the form of by-products. Cities need to conduct recycling and reduce waste. More waste, as well as more renewable energy sources, "said Chris Hardie of Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, the Danish company that won the factory design competition, said.

Hardie also stressed that the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from decomposing landfills is more than twice the amount of carbon dioxide from the incineration process. The roof of the giant factory spanning about 1.6km will be covered with 44,000m ^{2 of} solar battery. According to the design company's idea, the factory not only serves to dispose of garbage, but also provides a clean and sustainable power source for the city, and can open the door for people to visit and raise awareness. about environment.