Profit from a Problem

Abstract

The Refuse-fired Steam Generating Facility was jointly sponsored by Hampton, NASA Langley and Langley Air Force Base. The facility disposes of all solid waste from the NASA Center, the Air Force Base, the Army's Fort Monroe and other federal installations in the area, and accommodates about 70 percent of Hampton's municipal waste. Incinerated refuse is reduced to a readily-disposable ash whose volume is one-seventh that of the solid waste brought to the plant. The energy produced in the burning process is converted to steam for use in research and administrative facilities at Langley Research Center. Plant is expected to produce some 300 million pounds of steam annually, about 85 percent of Langley Research Center's needs.