Growth Potential for Energy-from-Waste Plant Operators in the European Union and Beyond
Across Europe, there is growing recognition that energy, raw materials, environmental and security policy can all be components of an interdependent policy strategy, and that waste management also plays a role at the intersection of these policies. The European Commission is currently preparing a Communication which will explore the contribution that energy from waste (EfW) can make to the European Energy Union. The Energy Union is designed to reduce the EU's reliance on energy from Russia, following the dramatic events in Ukraine. The EU's strategic energy and security goals create an opportunity to implement the longstanding EU waste Management targets, particularly with regard to landfilling.
From a waste management perspective, it is neither sensible nor advisable to subject all waste streams to thermal recovery. The European Waste Framework Directive's waste hierarchy therefore sets out clear limitations by establishing recycling Targets that member states have to reach. Currently, at least fifty per cent of paper, metals, plastics and glass should be recycled. The proposed Circular Economy Package foresees a material recycling target of 65 per cent for municipal waste. But the fact is that policy makers like to set environmental targets because these serve as clear benchmarks and thus make it easier for authorities to implement their objectives.
Autor(en)
Dipl.-Phys. Karl-Heinz Müller, Peter Werz
Contentpartner
© Thomé-Kozmiensky Verlag GmbH
Publikation
Waste Management, Volume 6 (September 2016)
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