Report Says Waste-to-Energy a False Path to Zero Waste

Researchers at the City College of New York (CCNY) claim the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) is releasing misleading information claiming waste-to-energy is a false path to zero waste, and it could lead to “more waste going into landfills than ever before.”

The report says the GAIA has been advocating for less waste for years, using flawed methods to arrive at conclusions that are disingenuous, distorted and untrue.

The GAIA report in question, “Green Businesses and Cities at Risk,” says: “Though touted as a sustainable waste management practice, co-incineration faces economic, environmental, and operational challenges, and businesses and cities that use it face increasing scrutiny. Just last month, a firm called RePower lost a key government contract in Virginia to process municipal waste for co-incineration, which sent ripples through the industry.”

GAIA goes on to write that its report sheds light on the practice of waste burning under the guise of landfill diversion or energy generation.

CCNY researchers, on the other hand, claim the GAIA report is based on incorrect calculations and does not take into account the science and engineering of the real issues associated with “managing the immense scale of the waste generated every single day.” Furthermore, it does not propose a solution, only an idea, “then proceeds to attack thermal conversion in ways that are preposterous.”

Waste-to-Energy in the News

Energymanagertoday.com reported in January that waste-to-energy initiatives were gaining ground across the globe. The pieces states that Austria is a European leader in the waste-to-energy approach and the Czech Republic is not far behind. Bulgaria has not developed the technology and neither has Hungary. But Jardine suggests that that is expected to change soon. The story provides status updates on Poland, Slovenia, Albania, Romania Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and the Slovak Republic.

And in 2026, it was reported that Shenzhan, China, is building the largest waste-to-energy plant in the world. The plant will burn 5,000 tons of waste daily, with at least one-third of the trash being transformed into usable electricity, with the price being the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Still, it is likely to reduce the landfills and illegal dumps that have appeared around the city.

The plant is expected to be operational in 2020. The driver is to confront the growing trash problem in the country. The generation of electricity is a bonus.