WASTE TO ENERGY HUGE POTENTIAL FOR TURNINGWASTE INTO A VALUABLE RESOURCE
Waste to energy covers a range of technologies and feedstocks, from combustion with energy recovery and the collection of methane from landfill sites, to anaerobic digestion of organic wastes (covered separately under ‘Biogas’), enzymatic treatment solutions and advanced thermal treatment (ATT) technologies, such as gasification and pyrolysis (G&P). Many waste to energy technologies avoid harmful methane emissions from landfilling waste, while generating energy and useful by-products such as construction materials and for some technologies, biochar. Much of the UK’s waste is also exported at present, and this process therefore utilises an increasingly valuable UK resource otherwise lost to UK plc while avoiding the associated transport emissions.
These technologies are key long term solutions for reducing landfill and increasing the supply of low-carbon electricity and heat. They can also help the UK meet its targets under the EU
Renewable Energy and Landfill Directives.
The UK currently lags behind most other EU countries when it comes to realising the clean energy potential in its residual waste streams, but an improved policy framework could see a much greater contribution from the various waste to energy technologies.
More needs to be done to promote the reduction, reusing and recycling of waste, but there will always be an element left over. Energy recovery is a key part in the waste hierarchy. Without it, this material would be destined for landfill or simple incineration (i.e. without also generating energy).
The efficiency of waste to energy solutions can be significantly increased with the implementation of heat networks. Financing these heat networks as part of a wider infrastructure
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