Abstract
Waste-to-energy (WtE) could prevent the production of up to 50 million tons of CO2 emissions that would otherwise be generated by burning fossil fuels. Yet, support for a large deployment of WtE plants is not universal because there is a widespread concern that energy from waste discourages recycling practices. Moreover, incineration plants generate air pollution and chemical waste residuals and are expensive to build compared to modern landfills that have appropriate procedures for the prevention of leakage of harmful gasses. In the context of the EU, this paper aims to provide a picture of the actual role of WtE as a disposal option for municipal solid waste (MSW), enabling it to be utilized as a source of clean energy, and to address two important aspects of the debate surrounding the use of WtE; namely, (i) the relationship between WtE and recycling, and (ii) the effects of decentralization, waste mobility, and plant ownership. Finally, it reviews the role of the EU as a supranational regulator, which may allow the lower government levels (where consumer preferences are better represented) to take decisions, while taking spillovers into account.
Highlights
Countries that have substantially reduced landfill dumping adopt a balanced mix of WtE and material recycling, while those that do not incinerate still depend on landfill dumping for the disposal of at least 30% of their municipal solid waste (MSW)
Supporters of incineration argue that recycling and waste-to-energy are complementary and that the presence of WtE plants is often accompanied by high recycling rates in communities [22]
Levaggi et al [26] provide a two-region model that allows to investigate the joint effects of waste mobility and WtE plant ownership on incineration, recycling rates, environmental damage, and welfare
Summary
As the world population grows and living standards continue to rise, the consumption of goods and energy is increasing too, which has important environmental consequences [1,2]. Higher per capita consumption has led to an increase in the generation of waste. With around 39 TWh of electricity and 90 TWh of heat produced in Europe annually, waste-to-energy (WtE) could prevent the production of up to 50 million tons of CO2 emissions that would otherwise be generated by fossil fuels.
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