Spokane is the only city in Washington that burns its garbage. Local officials say it’s a better disposal option for Spokane than putting a landfill right over the aquifer. They argue the state’s Climate Commitment Act subjects Spokane’s waste-to-energy plant to the same rules as landfills. Landfills are required to capture gases such as methane that leach from garbage and then dispose of them so they don’t become airborne. That’s impossible to do with an incinerator smokestack.
According to the act, Spokane must begin buying carbon credits next year to offset the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions. The estimated cost, according to current emissions, will be $7 million. The city said the city’s utility ratepayers can’t afford that and asked for more time to find ways to reduce the emissions and the cost. The legislature said yes, though it doesn’t give the city a full pass on next year. [Here’s the link to HB 2416.]
It’s a complicated topic and we asked the city’s Public Works Director, Marlene Feist, to help make it understandable…