Developments and perspectives for energy recovery from waste in Europe

Waste-to-Energy plants with efficient energy recovery can make a huge contribution to climate protection, generating as much energy as possible from the waste. Together with recycling they are complementary options in order to help to divert waste from landfills.

by Dr. Ella Stengler

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants thermally treat Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) that cannot otherwise be reused or recycled to generate electricity and heat. They are an essential part of both the waste management and the energy supply network. There are some 420 WtE plants in Europe treating roughly 50 million tons of MSW each year. In order to fulfil the European Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC properly, more WtE capacity would be necessary. Currently, there are approximately 50 new WtE plants with a potential capacity of 8 million tons per year in the planning stages. For the outlook of WtE it is of utmost importance that WtE plants officially receive the status as energy recovery operation in the review of the Waste Framework Directive, which is currently under discussion.

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published: IWWG International Waste Working Group, Venice Conference 2006 (November 2006), 11|2006
Keywords: Energy Recovery