Something to do with all those plastic bags

I am not a major eco-freak, or strong environmentalist but I do appreciate the efforts by those that are to clean up the planet a bit. I have always felt that our trash piles, our garbage dumps, would someday be a source of energy. In some places, and some ways, they already are providing energy. There are, for example, waste burning facilities which generate electricity. Not exactly as I envisioned but a pretty good idea. I pictured the dumps as sources of methane which would then be burnt to run turbines to generate electricity. Some, however, want to tackle both the problems of land usage and reduce the waste. So, here comes Akinori Ito, CEO of Blest Corporation in Japan.

The following is in Japanese but just turn down the sound and read the subtitles. Unless you are fluent in Japanese, of course.



At about 20 to 30 cents of electricity used to produce a liter of oil, I am not sure how efficient it is but perhaps that can be improved. I especially like his idea of a machine in every home except I have to wonder about where the homes would store the oil produced until they had enough to use. The practicality is slightly suspect to this skeptic's mind but I do see potential.

More information about the machine can be found here:

http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/plastic-to-oil-fantastic/


Ok, I've done my good deed for the week.