Turning Trash into Treasure: The Role of

Waste-to-Energy in Sustainable Development

Dr.Sreedhar Reddy, PhD

HOD, Dept. Of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Nizwa
Sultanate of Oman
Email: sreedharreddy@unizwa.edu.om
 OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

 Status of SDG-7

 How waste can contribute to sustainable development?

 Waste to Energy conversion routes

 Limitations of existing waste to energy technologies

 New Perspectives for Waste to energy

From risk to resource: waste can contribute to
sustainable development
• Waste is a challenge waiting to be transformed into an opportunity that
can help achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
• If the world is to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on
providing clean and affordable energy for all by 2030, Waste to Energy
cannot be ignored
Limitations of existing waste to energy technologies

 Environmental Impact: Some WtE methods, particularly incineration, produce harmful emissions. These can include
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as other pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
heavy metals, and dioxins.

 Energy Efficiency: The energy recovery efficiency of most WtE technologies is not as high as that of conventional power
generation technologies. WtE plants typically have an efficiency of about 20-30%, while modern gas-fired power plants can
reach efficiencies of up to 60%. This makes WtE less competitive in terms of energy production.

 Economic Cost: WtE technologies are often more expensive than landfilling or other waste disposal methods, and they can
also be more expensive than traditional power generation methods. This is due to the high initial capital costs, as well as
ongoing costs for operation, maintenance, and emission control.

 Waste Reduction: By providing a use for waste, WtE technologies can potentially discourage waste reduction efforts. If
waste becomes a valuable resource for energy production, there may be less incentive to minimize waste generation in the
first place.
 Material Recovery: Some materials, particularly certain metals, can lose their recyclability when subjected to WtE processes,
particularly incineration. This could lead to a loss of valuable resources.

 Public Perception: There can be significant public opposition to WtE facilities, particularly incinerators, due to concerns about
pollution, health impacts, and impacts on local property values. This can make it difficult to site and build new facilities.

 Technology Limitations: Certain types of waste, such as highly organic waste, may not be suitable for some WtE technologies.
Additionally, WtE technologies often require a consistent and predictable waste stream to operate efficiently, which may not
always be available.
The goal of circular economy is

(1) to increase the life cycle of different types of

materials and waste

(2) to facilitate their reuse by treating them as

manageable resources
How Waste-to-Energy contributes to the circular economy?

 Providing a hygienic service to the community by treating non-recyclable combustible waste and pollutants, which would

otherwise end up in landfills.

 Providing secondary raw materials from incineration residues, a process known as material recovery.

 Recovering energy from waste and providing a local and reliable source of renewable electricity, heat, hydrogen and fuels,

substituting fossil fuels and strengthening the energy security.

 Recovering the emitted carbon from its processes through carbon capture technologies and producing further products and

fuels.
Examples of integrating waste to energy with the circular economy

Swedish Waste Management

Model

 More than 99% of all household

waste in Sweden is recycled in
some way.

 Around half is recycled through

WTE processes to produce
electricity and district heating.

 The country even imports waste

from other countries to fuel its
WTE plants( 2.5 million tons of
waste was imported for
incineration from other EU
countries)
Waste to energy plants
around the world
 Will divert up to 300,000 tonnes of waste from
landfills annually

 It will produce 30 megawatts of low-carbon electricity,

enough to supply electricity to about 28,000 homes in
the UAE
 Waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Barka, which will have a
power generation capacity of 130-150MW.

 Daily capacity of 4,500 tonnes of municipal waste, with the

aim of reducing the carbon footprint of landfills by 50
million tonnes over 35 years