An Island Made Of Trash And Ash

Imagine your country had a lot of trash.
And your country was just too small to hold that amount of trash.
You had to burn it. But you also had all sorts of wastes and materials
that you couldn’t burn but had to put somewhere.
But then, where do you put all those tonnes of ash & trash?
Wait a minute.
Why not make an island out of it, an island we could ultimately use in the end?
Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?
Well that is what our neighbour Singapore did with Semakau Island.

Picture of Pulau Semakau from Wikimedia Commons

Okay. So technically, there was already a small island called Semakau, which was a
small fishing island close by to another island called Pulau Sakeng. What Singapore
planned was to relocate the inhabitants in 1999 and basically enclose the sea waters
between the two islands. They filled the middle with bays or ‘cells’ of landfill waste, effectively
turning enlarging Pulau Semakau and turning it into the world’s first ecological
offshore landfill.

What’s so special about the island landfill (or landfill island)?

• All Singapore’s trash ash from incineration plants and all non-incinerable waste goes to Semakau.
• Waste from construction material is processed, while toxic waste like asbestos is packaged in such a way that it cannot leak into the surrounding environment. Any leachate produced is processed at a leachate treatment plant.
• It does not smell! It is clean and scenic, and efforts were made to protect the marine ecosystem, especially mangroves and corals. 13 hectares of mangrove were replanted to replace those removed during construction of the bund. Wildlife continues to thrive, and the air and water quality remains good.
• Semakau Landfill was designed by engineers and environmentalists themselves at Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA)

And here are the good, sexy things that have come out of this all-green project.

• It now harbours dozens of rare plant, bird and fish species. The natural mangroves there now shelter a wide variety of plants and animals, many no longer seen on the mainland or other islands. There is also a vast seagrass meadow and a wide zone of coral rubble with amazing marine life.
• The landfill is enough to satisfy Singapore’s waste disposal needs until 2040. And because they now have experience with Semakau, I’m thinking that future waste solutions may come easier to the republic.
• In 2005, the government decided to open Semakau’s Western areas up to the public for recreational purposes. So it is now an added public space for Singaporeans, with guided nature walks and special excursions. It is also now a haven for the country’s sports fishing and bird watching associations. Can anybody say ‘added value’?
• It’s pretty. Here, let the pictures do the talking.

Flickr picture from Wildsingapore

Picture from www.sustainablesingapore.gov.sg

Picture from WildSingapore.com

Picture from WildSingapore.com

So as the Semakau project easily proves, there is definitely a lot of good that can
come out people putting their heads together to ensure everybody benefits from
a particular endeavour.
The problem? Solved.
In addition to that? Knowledge and experience gained. Check. A new island which
functions doubly as an additional public recreational space and a wildlife research area.
Check check. Planet earth’s creatures alive, multiplying & thriving – check check check.
Read more about the Semakau landfill in these following links:
- Pulau Semakau: The Landfill of the Future?
- Pulau Semakau Landfill To Turn Into An Eco-Park
- The island paradise built on a garbage dump
.
You see, you know what the best thing about all-green
projects are? They don’t even need to label themselves.
They just are. They just make sense.
That’s what I mean by inherently green.
Hope you’ll stay with us to read more about other all-green projects
I will be highlighting soon.
Till then, hope you get as inspired as the people behind these wonderful

taken from:http://want2green.com/2010/03/14/an-island-made-out-of-trash-ash/