With the increase in population across the globe, the demand for basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter and electricity is also increasing. However, with the depletion in non-renewable sources such as coal, petroleum products, etc. people are turning to newer forms of renewable energy. Each year billions of tons of waste are collected across the globe. As a result, the countries are increasingly focusing on waste management, as a part of which the waste is either relegated to a landfill or exported to third world countries, impacting the local environment, ecosystem and human health.
Waste to Energy (WtE) or Energy from Waste (EfW), is the generation of energy from waste either in the form of heat or electricity. Therefore, by making use of this waste, WtE enables us to put the right foot forward towards a sustainable future.
WtE and Everything that Falls Under Its influence
In developed countries such as the United States the prime motivator for WtE are the growing environmental concerns, while in developing economies the sole purpose is energy recovery. Therefore, we can say that waste to energy is much more than just a trash disposal method, it is an ecologically cost effective recovery method that converts industrial and municipal waste into energy either in the form of heat or electricity. This is done through different thermal or non-thermal technologies namely combustion, gasification and pyrolysis or anaerobic digestion.
WtE – Harnessing Energy and Its Benefits
WtE or Energy from Waste is still at a nascent stage and it will take time to move to the application stage with a widespread adoption among the organizations, industries and households as it requires high amount of investment and time to build the plant. However, it has multifold benefits that negate the disadvantages of WtE technology which are as follows,
- It prevents the release of carbon dioxide and also eliminates methane leakage as a result of landfill disposal.
- Generating energy from waste reduces the country’s dependency on energy imports.
- The Waste to Energy technology facilitates better waste management and the cost is relatively less as compared to creating a landfill site.
- It promotes sustainability and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by making use of discarded waste.
Waste management is a global pain point. Thus, it is critical to solve the issues related to managing and disposing waste and focusing on the bigger picture of creating a sustainable environment. The introduction of newer sources of renewable energy has created the need to procure and source new equipment that is in tandem with the environment goals.
At SpendEdge, we leverage our expert knowledge in procurement market intelligence by providing detailed insights to help clients identify new opportunities for expansion across geographies thereby reducing costs. To know more about the impact of WtE and the role of procurement in ensuring a responsible corporate approach when it comes to waste management.
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