Solid waste incineration in the context of climate change mitigation: A renewable energy perspective

Given the benefits of solid waste incineration (SWI)—it is a waste management practice as an energy recovery approach, as a diversion to landfills, and as a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate climate change—it has become a very important approach. A second, though less often mentioned, solution is incineration. Given its use as a last resort over past decades, the idea of promoting it is met with alarm, and yet incineration must be reconsidered, especially if designed with scale and renewability in mind. This paper gives a review of SWI technologies and their environmental aspects, energy efficiency, and reduction of carbon footprint in waste disposal. This paper presents assessments of how SWI can be considered renewable energy through an assessment of state-of-the-art developments in WTE incineration, including flue gas treatment, plasma gasification, and carbon capture integration. The possibility of SWI in conjunction with district heating systems and industrial applications is examined in order to assess the possibility of maximizing the amount of energy recovered while minimizing the level of environmental impact. Financial viability, investment cost, operational expense, and corresponding government incentives are also discussed as economic, policy, and societal challenges to the implementation of SWI. Stiff regulatory frameworks and changing waste management policies that lead to strict frameworks, the examination of their effects on public perception and public concerns for emission and health risk and for transparency of emission sources, public engagement, and environmental monitoring improvement, create an impact on the potential future SWI growth. It has been found that although SWI provides apparent landfill replacement potential, various stringent emissions control, public acceptance, and feasibility are also strong requirements before the SWI technique can be scaled. Therefore, improved SWI sustainability is contingent upon the future development of incineration technology (i.e., hybrid WTE, advanced APC methods, and digital optimization with artificial intelligence). The current global waste management approaches are moving towards the circular economy principles, and SWI will assist in adding recycled and composted products while also strengthening the sustainability and reliability of the energy infrastructure.