A Proposal that was dumped to the Dustbin during the Mahinda Rajapaksha Regime  

The normal thermal power plant's heat source the fossil based fuel is effectively replaced by piled up litter and garbage. 

Sri Lanka should put a full stop to dumping of garbage in various places of one or the other, because the population and the households are always ever increasing rapidly and it is a permanent problem we are and would be facing with increased pressure and thus require a concrete permanent solutions; finding another place as refill means we are transferring  the life risking environment to fresh area. Thus it is imperative  that we set in motion some concrete  actions  for multipurpose recycling the trash daily collected, including for electricity generation, (apart from windmills, solar power, etc.) The reason is such a system is a multi-faceted income generator, via wealthy ash turned out  and that definitely  ensures a clean environment for human respiration within a heavily populated township if meticulously planned and executed. Baltimore Maryland model may give us an insight of this project as well the above said benefits.  Setting up (None Bio Gas System) of burning of litter for steam engines propellers that would convert energy into electricity, as found in many well developed countries.  shall be just another mega contributor for the National grid of electricity generation in Sri Lanka. 

This does not require a compulsory sorting out litter and garbage for recycling combustion for electricity generation unless there is a public demand for composting. There need not be a worry of too wet garbage disturbing  the flow of burning, since all the incineration taking place at more than 1700˚F to 2500˚F  in all the system utilizing garbage as a fuel. 

The Refuse Energy Systems Company (RESCO) was originally an equity based company later it was out rightly sold to a standalone company Wheelabrator Incinerator for long term program and expansion agreement based on the interests it generated among the entrepreneurs by the profits system generated.

The Process of Recycling Trash into Energy...

The Outer View Environmental friendly Plant in the City

The Baltimore plant processed and burns up to 2,250 tons of trash from Baltimore city and county each day and is capable of generating 60,000 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply power 68,000 to homes. It also supplies steam to the city's downtown heating loop. The Refuse Energy Systems Company (RESCO) plant burns municipal solid waste, a fancy name for household trash, to heat boilers which produce steam. The steam is used to provide heating and air conditioning, and to turn a turbine to produce electricity. There are 16 plants like this one in the U.S. This plant was opened in the fall of 1984 and services the needs of the city of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and the surrounding county of Anne Arundel. It has processed more than 9 million tons of waste so far, and can provide electricity for as many as 40,000 homes. The steam from the plant satisfies the heating needs of the city of Baltimore and a large portion of its cooling needs.

It is not just dumping the garbage and polluting the Environment 

Garbage trucks enter the plant to dump their refuse (trash) into a "receiving pit". (No fuels, tires, sludge or trash from the hospital are allowed.) From this area, a crane with a huge mechanical claw scoops up three or four tons of garbage at a time and dumps it into the feed hopper or "intake" of one of three processing units. These hoppers are fed by gravity. At the bottom of the hopper, "ram feed stokers" push the trash into a fire that burns at 2,500˚F degrees Fahrenheit. This burns the trash as it is received – the trash is NOT separated – just dumped in "as it is." The glass and aluminum melt. At about 750 tons a day per intake or feed hopper, with all three intake or feed hoppers operating, the plant can burn about 2,250 tons of trash a day total. See a flowchart!

Inside each unit is a slanted metal grate that vibrates back and forth. It slowly transports the refuse through the fire and allows for complete combustion (or burning) to occur. It takes about one hour for any single piece of garbage to pass all the way through the furnace. The RESCO processing system successfully reduces the volume of incoming garbage by 90% (the big pile of trash that goes in turns into a small pile after it is burned). The remaining 10% consists of ash, ferrous (made of or contains some iron) and non-ferrous metals.

Garbage Energy Generation Control Room

After the garbage is completely processed, the ferrous and non-ferrous metals are separated from the residue (the rest that is left over). The facility has successfully removed over 150 million pounds of metal and recycled it into the scrap metal market since 1984. This would be enough metal to build 5 Titanic!! The ash is treated and sold to various landfill sites which use the ash as a "cover" to seal either the whole site or to separate different layers within a landfill. This ash becomes very hard and solid after being wet down with some water.

All fires need air to burn. In this plant, the primary source for combustion air is drawn from the receiving pit area. This causes a sustaining negative air pressure in the receiving pit – the air pressure is actually lower in the receiving pit than it is outside of the plant. This negative pressure prevents any "garbage" odors or dust from escaping into the outside environment. Even though they deal with tons of garbage, it isn't really that stinky outside the plant.

The Sketch of the Plant at the control room

This plant doesn't just burn the trash, it also uses it to help produce other "products." Surrounding the grate systems are large utility-type power boilers which are designed to recover and "recycle" the thermal energy released by the garbage during burning. This recycled energy is recovered in the form of high pressure steam. Everything that goes on in the plant is monitored in the control room. At full capacity, (the largest amount that can be processed at one time) the plant can generate more than 500,000 pounds of steam per hour. The energy from the steam is used in the form of steam itself or electricity. BRESCO can supply up to 300,000 pounds per hour to Trigen Baltimore for direct steam heating or summer cooling (using chillers) in downtown Baltimore. The facility is also capable of generating 60,000 kilowatts of electrical energy for Baltimore Gas & Electric Company using its turbine generator to convert the steam into electrical energy. The energy recaptured by the plant can provide electricity for as many as 40,000 homes. The plant’s production is sufficient to satisfy downtown Baltimore’s heating needs and a significant portion of its air conditioning needs.

A Sketch of the entire plant made Environmental friendly