Current status of Waste to Energy initiative in EU, US, Japan, China and India.
What is it about?
This paper focuses on the current status and challenges of different Waste to Energy technologies used in Europe, US, China, Japan and India. This paper recommends that waste incineration should not be treated as a source of renewable energy and suggests anaerobic digestion methods (bio-methanation) as a solution for countries, especially India, with more biodegradable waste.
Why is it important?
In order to have sustainable future, we need to tackle municipal solid waste issues in such efficient manner where we move towards zero waste villages, cities and countries. Waste incineration should not be treated as a source of renewable energy. The perpetuation of this myth has deeply harmful ramifications. Countries such as USA and India are promoting waste-to-enery (WtE) as a renewable energy source. This is not only against the vision of zero waste but also another pollution source for countries which generates more bio-degradable waste compared to dry waste.