Issues and options in waste management: A social cost–benefit analysis of waste-to-energy in the UK

Tooraj Jamasb and Rabindra Nepal

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2010, vol. 54, issue 12, 1341-1352

Abstract: The growing stream of municipal solid waste (MSW) requires a sustainable waste management strategy. At the same time, addressing climate change and security of energy supply concerns requires increased use of low-carbon and domestic sources of energy. This paper assesses the economic and environmental aspects of waste management options focusing on waste-to-energy (WtE) as a renewable resource. We discuss how WtE and recycling are compatible as waste treatment options. The paper then presents a social cost–benefit analysis of selected waste management scenarios for the UK focusing on specific waste management targets and carbon prices and compares them with coal-fired electricity. The results indicate that meeting the waste management targets of the EU Directive are socially more cost-effective than the current practice. The cost-effectiveness improves substantially with higher carbon prices. The findings show that WtE can be an important part of both waste management strategy and renewable energy policy although achieving the full potential of WtE requires development of heat delivery networks.

Keywords: Electricity; Renewable energy; Waste-to-energy (WtE); Waste management; Municipal solid waste (MSW) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q01 Q28 Q42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344910001151
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:54:y:2010:i:12:p:1341-1352

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.05.004

Access Statistics for this article

Resources, Conservation & Recycling is currently edited by Ming Xu

More articles in Resources, Conservation & Recycling from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Kai Meng ().