Energy from waste or incineration?

I chaired a seminar last week and energy from waste was high on the agenda.

Despite my efforts to negotiate a middle ground, it was clear that there was a divide between supporters of combined heat and power plants from the waste industry and engineers and those from the environmental lobby such as Friends of the Earth.

Indeed, it was interesting to see their use of terminology with the waste industry and engineering delegates talking of EfW and CHP and the environmentalists of incineration.

My view is that EfW and CHP has a place in a well structured hierarchy of waste with the usual re-use and recycle etc coming first. Terms such as incineration do an injustice to efficient modern plants as it gives the impression of burning waste with a stack belching out untreated pollutants. Maybe that is why the enviornmental lobby are so keen to use the word incineration.

Paul Sanderson, editor, MRW and www.mrw.co.uk