At West Coast Metal, we are concerned Australians who want to do something good for our communities. Also, the recovered metals can potentially be sold for cash, meaning that you will have more money at the end of the day. Waste-to-energy (WtE), also known as waste-to-electricity, is the process where energy (usually heat and electricity) is generated from waste as a fuel source. This is usually done through direct combustion through waste incineration or fuel production from gasses such as methane. The latter method is not as common and needs processes such as anaerobic or gasification digestion.

Waste Incineration is the most common type of waste-to-energy in Australia and remains a rather basic generation technology. Waste is burned and the heat results in steam and power generation. 

Waste-to-energy pros and cons

As with every waste management process, WtE has benefits and drawbacks. Let us look over some of the major ones.

Waste-to-energy pros

Waste-to-energy has a lot going for it compared to traditional methods. These are the utilization of waste, shrinking landfills, and the ability to make the most out of our resources. 

Waste-to-energy is a better alternative to incineration. 

Waste-to-energy is “clean energy” when we compare it to wasteful incineration practices of the past. In this regard, it utilizes energy that would otherwise be wasted at the same being relatively good for the environment at large. 

Avoid landfilling

Landfills are an environmental headache and the least desirable way to deal with waste. This causes lots of issues such as greenhouse gases, taking up and polluting a lot of land and also polluting the groundwater as things seep in. 

Waste-to-energy is super useful here as it reduces the need for landfills. Australians produced 2.95 tons of waste per capita in 2022, and this is a growing issue. 

Better resource use

After incineration, metals, for instance, can also be recovered.. They can then be sent for recycling and remain useful in the economy. This is even true of mixed materials, which are known for being problematic when it comes to recycling. Incineration burns out materials like plastics, leaving the metals behind, which can be considered better than landfills where recyclable materials are simply buried. West Coast Metals even has a cash-for-scrap program and you might be able to sell the recovered metals. 

Cons of wte Waste-to-energy 

There are also issues that have become more glaring in recent years. Let us go over some of them

High CO2 emissions 

Almost all the carbon part of the waste that ends up getting burned for WtE is pushed out as carbon dioxide. Co2 is one of the most problematic greenhouse gasses. That said if the waste fuel is biomass for instance, of natural origins, food waste, paper board, or natural cloths like cotton – then the CO2 it contains was initially taken from the atmosphere. Also oil-based goods are also burned in WtE, are equivalent to any kind of fossil fuel, and emit harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Potential to destroy recoverable materials

While waste-to-energy provides to recover some things, such as metals, it tends to destroy other things.  This WtE process might destroy resources that could potentially have been recovered, things like plastic, wood and minerals. This is particularly true if there is no proper separation process for municipal waste before the incineration.

WtE might discourage recycling efforts 

Another of the waste-to-energy cons is the chances of it disincentivizing recycling or different more sustainable waste management methods. Trash to energy sounds very nice but it has its caveats.  If policymakers, organizations, and governments think that waste-to-energy is the magic solution to solve all of our environmental woes there is a real chance that other efforts will be sidelined. 

It fuels an unregulated waste trade in developing countries

Today, many first world countries ship their waste to poorer countries for processing. This is almost always as part of a wider waste management plan that aims to increase recycling rates. In some cases, waste is recycled, however often it is just incinerated or utilized in waste-to-energy facilities. This can cause great harm in poorer countries where corruption is rampant and the rule of law is often weak at best. 

Sadly, even though Western countries continue to claim that this practice is a part of their recycling targets, because of its unregulated nature, this trade often means improper disposal in poor and developing countries, with WtE playing a major part. In fact, it is quite common that the materials shipped abroad to be disposed of properly just end up getting burnt and thrown into ever-growing landfills as a cheaper alternative with corrupt officials pocketing the difference.

Other waste-to-energy systems 

Incineration is not the only waste-to-energy option out there.  There is an increasing number of options that are being used to make waste processing more environmentally friendly.

Gasification

Gasification is nothing new. This is a process that has been around for centuries, it has only been used for waste management in a serious way in the past few decades. It is done by processing biomass at very high temperatures without combustion. This produces combustible natural gas – also known as syngas. This gas is then burnt to be used as fuel.

Distillation and Fermentation

We can ferment and distill biomass to make ethanol. This is a great option to power engines and other devices. This is only possible using organic waste.

Anaerobic digestion

In this method, microorganisms dismantle the biomass in an environment without oxygen. This makes biogas, which has a lot of methane. This is then good for being used fuel to generate electricity and do other things. 

Conclusion

Waste to energy has a lot of benefits. This cuts down the need for conventional landfills, which have a terrible impact on the wider environment. It is also much better then incineration systems when it comes to better waste management. Waste to energy is not free of any kinds of problems and it does not promise a Utopian solution. However, it is an environmentally responsible way to have an effective solid waste management mechanism that is less harmful than other, more traditional methods.  Also, it saves several materials that can then be reused such as metals. West Coast Metals is among those companies that will accept metal for cash and help people make a little more money on the side. It is for these reasons, and more that waste to energy is a good option for waste management.