Like a lot of the islands around NYC, the then called Welfare Island was used for hospitals, asylums and other quarantine facilities.
As the population grew in Manhattan throughout the 20th century living space became a luxury, and Roosevelt island became prime land for the new development.
Throughout the 70s the island was re imaged at a Utopian community with the then futuristic infrastructure.
Such as electric vehicles and mono rail systems for commuting around is island.
One of these systems that actually came to fruition was the AVAC system. A central waste collection system that was powered by series of tubes and suction. The System was built into the island and building in parallel when the island was first developed.
Here is the current system. The Trash chutes in each building is connection to the system of pipes underground. The pipes are 20in wide and is connected to the central sanitation station. The turbines in the Sanitation is turned on 4 separate times throughout the day sucking the trash from the buildings into the Station.
Here are the current conditions, there are a few advantages with the AVAC system such as out of sight and out mind. The are no large piles on the side of the streets unlike Manhattan, this keeps the streets clean and reduces health risks. This also means that there are no sanitation trucks going around the already narrow roads of the island, reducing the impact on traffic and emission.
AVAC TURBINE ROOM
GARBAGE CHUTE AND COMPACTOR
However there are more disadvantages. First is cost, both the initial upfront cost and ongoing maintenance cost is very high and labour intensive. The System is also prone to blockages and the 20inch tubes can’t be used on oversized items. The current system also does not support recycling. Also unfortunately, after the trash is collected it is trucked off the island to landfills in Philadelphia, Virginia, New Jersey and Upstate. So like the other waste in NYC is basically ends up in the same place but with just extra steps, complexity and cost.
PROPOSAL
So for the proposal, the main idea is to embrace the Utopian ideals and create some what of the closed system that gives back to the island. 4 new component will be introduced on top of the existing AVAC system. First a bio digester for organic waste, second an incinerator and generator, third a recycling sorting station and forth an EV transportation that will replace the existing trucks
PROPOSAL FLOW DIAGRAM
So in a more detailed view, the Existing AVAC system will be used but different types of waste will be separated unlike the current system.
The Bio-digester will be used to ferment and break down the organic was collected around is island, whether it is food waste or plant waste such as leaves and branches. The Digester will produce compost that can be used for gardening for the community and also maintaining the landscape of the island. Bio gas (which is basically methane) will also be another byproduct. This can be used as fuel alongside the general waste that can be broken down or recycled to power the Incinerator. The heat generated from the incinerator can be used to generate electricity and power the island and the AVAC system. Also reducing the mass / volumes of the waste.
The Recycling sorting station will separate out the 4 main types of materials, metal, paper, plastic and glass the be trucked off the island using EV Transport trucks. This is mainly because due to the low volumes of recyclables and the lack of space on the island, it would just be more practical to truck the waste off site. The EV transport truck will be powered by the Solar array on the roof of the station and supplemented by the incinerator if needed.
PROPOSAL ADAPTED
So how does the are the different types of waste separated. The current system turns out 4 times a day that suck everything in the station. Adding new tubes for different types of waste would be impractical and expensive if not impossible as it is an integrated system within the island, as buildings are built around the system
For the new system, separate chutes, and collection points for each type of waste will be introduced in the buildings above ground. But the AVAC system will be turned on at different phases and only suck away one type of waste at one time, this allows for the different types of waste to use the same existing tubes while remaining separated. So for Example, 9am would be for Organic waste only, then 11am will be recyclables only, then 1pm would be general waste only ... etc
So, there are actually existing incinerator/generator in used. This is the COVANTA ESSEX incinerator in New Jersey, and actually processed a lot of waste that come from NYC and generate electricity that is put back into the grid. There are obviously a lot of concerns for incinerators especially the fumes produced, so there very strict management and regulations to this, many stages of filters and catalysts are used to mitigate toxic fumes. Obviously, there will still be greenhouse gasses produced, but the main argument for incineration is that the amount of greenhouse gasses produced from the same weight of waste is half of what it would be if it was left in a landfill to rot, which itself produces greenhouse gasses such as methane. Incineration also reduces the mass and volume of waste, usually up to 90-95% of the original. It basically reduces the waste to nothing. But this raises another concern for the biproducts of incineration, the ash left over. The ash is known as fly ash and is a very fine particle that is extremely hazardous if breathed in, and the biggest producers of fly as are coal fired power plants. However, this by product is used in the production of concrete, so perhaps leftovers from the incinerator can be put back into building or maintaining the city.