Fighting climate change must include a serious solution to rubbish landfills

 

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Every year, there are huge leaks – known as "super-emitters”- from landfills that are captured and recorded on satellite imagery.

 

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One solution here is to thermally treat and compact the waste to produce energy - and recover resources in the process – now commonly known as ‘Waste-to-Energy’. This reduces waste going to landfill and consequently methane emissions, as well as a host of other associated risks – such as soil and groundwater pollution.

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The EU is currently consulting on its Emissions Trading System and its expansion to include Waste-to-Energy companies. This will mean that plants will need to purchase emissions permits for thermally treating waste – pushing up costs to the point which renders it uncompetitive and, in some cases, unviable." "Inclusion in this system would also fail to take account of the circularity coming with Waste-to-Energy - which sees metals and materials such as aggregate produced when it would be otherwise lost.

 

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If the EU is serious about meeting its landfill reduction target, tackling climate change meaningfully, and improving people’s health, it must stop penalising the very solution that brings added benefits. Instead, it should accelerate efforts to end the landfilling of biogenic waste and increase recycling rates.