So much trash….

WordPress pictures are back up and running, so time start working on my backlog of posts! A couple weeks ago the CEU Environmental Sciences Department went on a field trip to see the waste to energy incinerator and landfill the serves Budapest for our Municipal Solid Waste Management class with State Minister/Professor Illes. After a little decontamination, we arrived at the incinerator where we got a tour of the facility and a presentation of the facility as well as the state company that provides public works services to Budapest (trash disposal, street cleaning, plowing, etc). After that we had a tour of a landfill located on the southwestern side of the city, and hiked up a 48 meter (~157 ft) tall trash pile. We also got to see the newly installed lining at the next disposal site (to be used once the first site fills up) and had a presentation on the history and future of the site.

Entrance to the Budapest Incinerator

Budapest incinerator chamber

Another incinerator chamber. This one is offline for maintenance, the rock you see is slag that has built up. It needs to be removed before it can be brought back online again.

Incinerator control room

The incinerator also uses the excess heat to generate power and steam heat. This is a panorama I took of the generator room.

Trash from Budapest to be incinerated.

Newly lain lining for phase two of the landfill

Leachate pond – All of the liquid that gets drained for the bottom of the incinerator, toxic is probably an understatement…but at least it’s in the pond and not in the groundwater.

On top of the 48 meter trash heap…

MESPOM/MESP Class of 2014 at the Budapest Landfill