What is “waste-to-energy?”

Waste-to-energy facilities produce clean, renewable energy through the combustion of municipal solid waste in specially designed power plants equipped with the most modern pollution control equipment to clean emissions.
Trash volume is reduced by 90% and the remaining residue is regularly tested and consistently meets strict EPA standards allowing reuse or disposal in landfills. There are 89 waste-to-energy plants operating in 27 states managing about 13 percent of America’s trash, or about 95,000 tons each day. Waste-to-energy generates about 2,500 megawatts of electricity to meet the power needs of nearly 2 million homes, and the facilities serve the trash disposal needs of more than 36 million people. The $10 billion waste-to-energy industry employs more than 6,000 American workers with annual wages in excess of $400 million.