Data from UNEP in 2019 shows that Japan, China and France are the 3 countries with the most waste-to-energy facilities in the world. Currently, Japan is even expanding its gassification process to convert waste into energy, while other countries are still using the waste-to-energy process using conventional incineration techniques. Nippon Steel Engineering, a Japanese company that has built approximately 50 WtE facilities using gassification, has even implemented the Direct Melting System (DMS) technique which has succeeded in reducing the amount of residual material from Japanese WtE facilities from 15% to 3%.
The rapid development of WtE facilities in Japan cannot be separated from regulatory support. Japan is quite strict about waste management. Local governments are required to provide a waste management plan for the next 20 years, they are also required to manage waste independently. Transporting waste over long routes is strictly prohibited.
Indonesia’s neighboring country which is quite advanced in procuring WtE facilities is Singapore. The area of Singapore is relatively small, only slightly larger than Jakarta. Semakau Landfill is the only landfill in Singapore. Singapore’s waste generation increased 7 times from 1,260 tonnes in 1970 to 8,741 in 2021. However, 4 WtE facilities in Singapore succeeded in converting 90% of solid waste into 2% of national electrical energy. The lack of landfill locations is one of the reasons why WtE facilities are needed to control the negative impacts of waste generation.
Post time: Aug-08-2024