Waste to Energy (WtE) is rising fast. While in 2022 its market size was estimated to be of over US$42 billion this is expected to double by 2032(external link).2 Currently around 15% of the of global waste(external link) collected is burned in WtE plants,3 most of which are located in the global North, especially Japan, the US and Europe.4 In Europe, six countries(external link) – Germany, the UK (before Brexit), France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy account for 75% of the EU’s incineration capacity.5
The rise of WtE is a global phenomenon. In Asia there are ever more WtE plants being built. China alone is operating 927 plants(external link).6 India has 106,(external link) Thailand plans to build 79 WtE(external link) in the next few years and Indonesia has 17(external link) planned. In Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, WtE is new but also on the rise as several countries have started to experiment with WtE, such as Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa in Africa and Brazil and Mexico in Latin America.7
Post time: May-07-2024