Denmark kills two climate birds with one stone
Population growth is exploding, cities are turning into metropoles, and waste in ever-increasing quantities is being dumped in a landfill to harm the local environment and global warming. Estimated the amount of waste worldwide will increase from 1.3 billion tons per year discarded in 2012 to 2.2 billion tons in 2025, but that figure may prove much higher. The vast majority will end up in a landfill. But not in Denmark. Talking about waste, Denmark is - with good reason - regarded as a small light in the dark, in an ocean of garbage. Particularly, concerning sorting the waste and utilizing the energy resource, in the combustion of the non- recyclable part, Denmark stands out to the rest of the world. Through waste incineration, Denmark has killed two climate birds with one stone. Denmark has taken out landfills from the equation and can now, with new technology, capture CO 2 from waste incineration plants, and use it as a resource for producing sustainable fuel.
Waste incineration emits a large amount of CO 2 . And from the political debate, one could very well get the impression waste incineration is the greatest environmental sins of all. But that picture is misleading. At a modern waste cogeneration plant, the energy in the non- recyclable waste is utilized while protecting the environment. Spreading the modern incineration method globally, hence waste not thrown in a landfill, will represent a global environ- mental and climate quantum leap. One of the world's major environmental culprits is waste in landfills. Waste landfill leads to methane emissions, a green- house gas 23 times more powerful than CO 2 . In 15 of the EU's 28 member states, more than 50% of the waste is landfilled. And the picture only gets worse in a global perspective.
Peter Blinksbjerg, chemical engineer and quality manager, Amager Ressource Center
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