Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons Learned from the 5th Conference on Energy Valorisation of Municipal Waste Organised by WtERT Colombia - SAI

There is a need to promote collaboration between the governments of Europe and the LAC region for capacity building and training in all matters related to technologies for the integrated and sustainable management of municipal waste.

WtERT Colombia

The V Pan American Conference was held in Colombia the past July 2024. Here are some of the conclusions WtERT Colombia and the SAI has to share about the Conference.

The landfill situation in European countries before 1990 was not very different from the situation today in the capital and intermediate cities of the LAC region, as can be seen from the presentations on models in Switzerland and the Netherlands. The results are also observed three decades after implementing policies and technologies to change the pre-1990 model.

In order to finance the integrated and sustainable municipal waste management system it is necessary to implement municipal taxes, therefore municipalities should have the autonomy to create such taxes to promote the change of model. These taxes are created for technical, social and environmental reasons, as proposed in the submissions from Switzerland and the Netherlands.

There is a need to promote collaboration between the governments of Europe and the LAC region for capacity building and training in all matters related to technologies for the integrated and sustainable management of municipal waste.

Develop and agree on financing schemes for environmental technology parks for municipal waste with different technologies, between commercial banks, second-tier banks and municipal governments.

Promote pilot or demonstration projects involving municipal and departmental governments, waste sector companies (public and private) and engineering and architecture associations. This will ensure financing and stability.

Around the waste from biogas plants (digestate for biofertilisers or soil conditioners) and combustion plants (ash, slag, vitrified and others) there are other technologies that can be applied to make a more advanced recovery of materials, capture, storage of CO2 and hydrogen production. All of them can be analysed and applied after having the first biogas and combustion plants.

Municipalities and departments should take advantage, with the support of the national government, of multilateral banking operations, such as the IDB, to carry out pilot projects, feasibility studies and obtain technical assistance for environmental technology parks for municipal waste.

Countries in the LAC region should consider that the implementation of municipal waste-to-energy technologies should have a positive impact on the metal-mechanic industry and the electromechanical services sector, as has happened in China, where they are now able to design and build all the components of energy recovery plants for both biogas and combustion.

The implementation of energy recovery technologies for municipal waste requires that municipal, departmental and national governments promote and invest in the first projects in each country, in training and research supported by universities, as happened in China, according to the director of WtERT CHINA and president of the GLOBAL WtERT COUNCIL.

In order to determine the biodigestion technology applicable to the municipal organic waste stream, studies must be carried out to determine the moisture, dry matter content and the content of impurities, i.e. waste unsuitable for biodigestion. This also makes it possible to determine the necessary pre-treatment before entering the biodigester. This was explained by the speakers from BIOGEST and SEBIGAS.

In order to implement projects in the chain of integrated and sustainable municipal waste management that imply a change of behaviour of the users, it is necessary to carry out behavioural change studies that allow the design of policies and campaigns that really allow to change the behaviour as desired for the projects to be successful. This was shown by EAWAG from Switzerland through the case studies they presented.

Energy communities can be the basis for Energy Districts that integrate energy recovery from municipal waste. Topic discussed on the day of the face-to-face forums.