Why and How to "Waste to Energy"

Waste-to-Energy is internationally recognized as a way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Based studies, every one ton of waste processed at a Waste-to-Energy plant, one ton of GHG is avoided. 

Not a single country could define landfilling as better than Waste-to-Energy as a matter of policy, regulation, or law.

Landfills were recently labeled by NASA as “super emitters” of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84 times more potent of a climate-warning gas than CO2.

An emerging body of science is finding that landfills emit far more methane than current models predict. Recent studies have concluded measured emissions from landfills average twice the amount reported in greenhouse gas inventories.

Waste-to-Energy does not compete with recycling for economic reasons. The facilities are limited by the amount of steam they can make, and in turn, the amount waste they can process. Taking large quantities of high heat content materials, like paper and plastics, reduces the amount of waste that a facility can process overall and since most Waste-to-Energy revenues come from waste tipping fees, revenues would decrease when processing large amounts of paper and plastics.

In the U.S., there are still 250 million of tons of waste going to landfills each year. According to the U.S. EPA and the EU waste hierarchy, the preferred method to deal with waste after recycling is Waste-to-Energy.

Waste-to-Energy facilities are resilient sources of baseload energy, meaning they generate their electricity consistently. As a result, they serve as a valuable complement to intermittent renewable resources, such as wind and solar. The facilities are also often built near demand, where power is delivered for distribution to the grid. This proximity reduces the energy losses associated with long-distance transmission of electricity and provides unique opportunities for integration in local community microgrids.

Many Waste-to-Energy facilities export steam to local communities, businesses, and key government infrastructure. The Niagara Falls, NY Waste-to-Energy facility supplies steam to a local industrial park, including a 100 percent recycled paper mill as a perfect example of how Waste-to-Energy contributes to a circular economy. Like all combustion processes (e.g. cars, trucks, landfill gas to energy) and nearly all waste management processes (e.g. landfilling, composting, anaerobic digestion, recycling), Waste-to-Energy facilities have air emissions.

To minimize emissions, Waste-to-Energy facilities employ a carefully controlled combustion process with temperatures in excess of 1,100 degrees Celcius sophisticated air pollution control equipment.

Emissions are monitored both continuously and with periodic testing. Over 99.9 percent of what is coming out of the facility’s stack are normal components of ambient air: such as water vapor, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Less than three hundredths of one percent are emissions required to be regulated through statewide air quality permits.

In addition to well-paying jobs, clean energy, and innovative waste management, Waste-to-Energy provides one of the only locations for safe disposal of unused and expired prescription medications, preventing drugs from ending up in the wrong hands and preventing them from polluting public water supplies.

Additionally, multiple independent, comprehensive scientific reviews have concluded that Waste-to-Energy facilities do not pose health risks to surrounding communities: