Scenarios for the implementation of EU waste legislation at national level and their consequences for emissions from municipal waste incineration

Dominik Saner, Yann B. Blumer, Daniel J. Lang and Annette Koehler

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2011, vol. 57, issue C, 67-77

Abstract: Incineration plays a significant role in modern municipal solid waste (MSW) management of European countries. There are 405 treatment facilities in the European Union (EU) and another 43 plants are planned to be built in the coming years. The number of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants is not only increasing due to rising waste amounts but also as a consequence of EU waste-concerned directives issued over the last two decades. This study analyses the potential influence of diverse national implementations of EU waste policies on the future emission loads to air from MSWI in different European countries. This is exemplified by constructing waste policy implementation scenarios using an adapted formative scenario analysis approach, coupled with a probabilistic MSWI emission model employing microsimulation, which enables us to model changing incinerated waste amounts and waste compositions for each country over time. This allows us to describe possible future emission levels of MSWI in the year 2020 in 33 European countries, and in detail for Switzerland, Poland and the United Kingdom. Uncertain future emission levels are calculated and compared with the emission levels determined by the scenarios’ implications.

Keywords: Municipal solid waste incineration; Formative scenario analysis; Probabilistic emission model; Waste directives; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:57:y:2011:i:c:p:67-77

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.09.002

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