EU Green Week

Every natural cycle needs a way to eliminate the residues. Our bodies have liver and kidneys to keep them clean but how can you ensure that waste that is polluted, infectious or too degraded is treated safely in a circular economy? It should not be forgotten that some waste, due to its composition, should not be reused, recycled and made into new products. In integrated waste management systems, Waste-to-Energy is key to decontamination of recycling streams, thus protecting human health and the environment.

Our event is directly related to the implementation of the Circular Economy Package adopted in 2018. We want to draw attention to the fact that many different aspects have to be taken into account when implementing the new recycling and landfill reduction targets. Waste that is not suitable for quality recycling, e.g. because it contains substances of concern, must be prevented from entering the cycle. Waste-to-Energy destroys the pollutants in waste that cannot be recycled and in this way acts as a sink for pollutants enabling a clean circular economy that benefits human health and the environment.

Clean air plays an important role in this context. 2019 will be the year of even more ambitious environmental standards for WtE. The newly reviewed Best Available Technology for Waste Incineration will be published in summer 2019 and by implementing the new requirements, WtE will improve even further its performance with regards to the environment as a whole (emissions to air, water, residues treatment, better management, energy efficiency, etc…) while guaranteeing the most sustainable treatment for non-recyclable waste and at the same time avoiding that this waste is landfilled.

Pic by Alena Kona on Pexels