Communication: The role of waste-to-energy in the circular economy

On 2 December 2015, the Commission adopted an EU action plan for the circular economy, offering a transformative agenda with significant new jobs and growth potential and aiming at fostering sustainable consumption and production patterns, in line with EU commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The action plan stressed that the transition to a more circular economy requires action throughout a product’s life-cycle: from production to the creation of markets for ‘secondary’ (i.e. waste-derived) raw materials. Waste management is one of the main areas where further improvements are needed and within reach: increasing waste prevention, reuse and recycling are key objectives both of the action plan and of the legislative package on waste.

Achieving these objectives can open up tangible economic opportunities, improve raw materials supply to industry, create local jobs and reaffirm European leadership in the green technologies sector, which has a proven growth potential also at global level. In the EU, the output of environmental goods and services per unit of gross domestic product has grown by more than 50% over the last decade and the employment linked to this production has risen to more than 4 million full-time equivalents. At global level, the World Bank has estimates that over the next 10 years €6 trillion will be invested in clean technologies in developing countries, with some €1.6 trillion accessible to SMEs.

In order to tap into this potential, promote innovation and avoid potential economic losses due to stranded assets, investment in new waste treatment capacity needs to be framed in a long-term circular economy perspective and to be consistent with the EU waste hierarchy, which ranks waste management options according to their sustainability and gives top priority to preventing and recycling of waste. EU legislation on waste, including recent proposals for higher recycling targets for municipal and packaging waste and for reducing landfill, is guided by the waste hierarchy and aims to shift waste management upwards towards prevention, reuse and recycling.

This communication focuses on energy recovery from waste and its place in the circular economy. Waste-to-energy is a broad term that covers much more than waste incineration. It encompasses various waste treatment processes generating energy (e.g. in the form of electricity/or heat or produce a waste-derived fuel), each of which has different environmental impacts and circular economy potential. The main aim of the communication is to ensure that the recovery of energy from waste in the EU supports the objectives of the circular economy action plan and is firmly guided by the EU waste hierarchy. The communication also examines how the role of waste-to-energy processes can be optimised to play a part in meeting the objectives set out in the Energy Union Strategy and in the Paris Agreement. At the same time, by highlighting proven energy-efficient technology the approach to waste-to-energy set out here is meant to provide incentives for innovation and help create high-quality jobs.

To attain these objectives, this communication:
− clarifies the position of different waste-to-energy processes in the waste hierarchy and what this entails for public financial support;
− provides guidance to Member States on how to make better use of economic instruments and capacity planning with a view to avoiding or addressing potential overcapacity in waste incineration; and
− identifies the technology and processes which currently hold the greatest potential to optimise energy and material outputs, taking into account expected changes in the feedstock for waste-to-energy processes.

ESO: Background information: Commission issues report on Action Plan for the Circular Economy and announces further initiatives to support its implementation http://www.europeansources.info/record/commission-issues-report-on-action-plan-for-the-circular-economy-and-announces-further-initiatives-to-support-its-implementation/

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