Environment

Waste-to-Energy and Climate Change

Many scientists believe that emissions of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" are leading to unusually high warming of the atmosphere or "global warming."

The U.S. Department of Energy has labeled waste-to-energy technology as a major part of a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. By replacing fossil fuels, waste-to-energy reduces the buildup of greenhouse gases in the air. Combusting biomass—materials such as paper, wood and food waste—does not add to the buildup of greenhouse gases.

When a ton of trash is delivered to a waste-to-energy plant, several things happen: the energy content of the waste is retrieved, electricity is generated, and metals are recovered and recycled.
A lifecycle analysis of a variety of solid waste management options, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), evaluated the associated environmental and energy impacts of the management techniques and found that, of all the options, waste-to-energy does the most to reduce greenhouse gas releases into the atmosphere. A similar study was conducted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board with identical results for conventional solid waste management options (see graph).

According to an analysis developed by EPA and the Integrated Waste Services Association, the use of waste-to-energy technology prevents the release of forty million metric tons of greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide equivalents that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere on an annual basis (The Impact of Municipal Solid Waste Management on Greenhouse Gas Emissions In the United States, by K.A. Weitz, Research Triangle Institute, S.A.Thorneloe, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and M. Zannes, IWSA, 2001.)

Recently, in conjunction with EPA, a detailed analysis has been completed of the “carbon footprint” of Wheelabrator’s waste-to-energy facility in Saugus, Massachusetts. Using information regarding alternative landfill disposal, plant emissions, trash composition and other plant-specific data, researchers analyzed the information using the EPA lifecycle analysis model. The study determined that about 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are avoided annually because of this one plant’s operations.

The results of evaluating the greenhouse gas releases avoided by a waste-to-energy plant on a lifecycle basis demonstrate that nearly one ton of carbon dioxide equivalents are avoided for every ton of trash processed by a waste-to-energy plant. Consequently, waste-to-energy plants are valuable contributors in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions.



Adapted from: Conversion Technologies Report to the Legislature, California Integrated Waste Management Board, February 2005


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