Antwerp, Belgium, is a city of half a million people that has benefited from municipal waste incineration for several decades. This is done by the ISVAG incineration plant, which safely, responsibly and in an environmentally friendly manner processes non-recyclable residual waste from more than 1 million residents of the region into energy and raw materials. The plant generates electricity for more than 25,000 families and also supplies heat to businesses through the district heating network.
To present the company’s activities and raise awareness of the importance of waste incineration for climate and environmental protection, ISVAG invites not only school groups from Belgium but also delegations of local-government officials and journalists from Europe, including Poland. Local-government officials from Oborniki Śląskie, Kunice, Jawor, Piechowice, Szklarska Poręba, Malczyce, Kostomłoty, Wałbrzych, Sobótka, Jelcz-Laskowice and Podgórzyn were invited to tour the waste incineration plant.
Why do we need to watch waste being burned?
During a study visit organized as part of the Ecologic - Study Trails project of the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the reasons for visiting European waste incineration plants were explained by Krzysztof Hodun, director of the Department of International Cooperation.
– The basic criterion for selecting four locations as part of the Ecologic – Study Trails project – said Krzysztof Hodun – was to choose facilities operated by intermunicipal associations that produce not only electricity but also heat. Another criterion was that they supply energy not to large, million-person agglomerations, but to towns with populations of several thousand or several tens of thousands. Places like those we have in Lower Silesia. The aim is to see how such facilities could operate in our counties or municipalities. The main objective of our project is to dispel the myths associated with facilities such as waste incineration plants. There is a common belief that a waste incineration plant is, figuratively speaking, a place where people shovel rubbish into a furnace and black smoke comes out of the chimney. Study visits show that these are facilities operating even in city centres. The incinerated waste undergoes completely different technological processes. The flue gases, meanwhile, consist mostly of water vapour. We received information from Sweden that the annual production of toxic substances by such a facility is equivalent to burning one tractor tyre in a field. Disposal and burning by random individuals produce far more pollution than facilities of this kind. As we see during the tours, these are safe and clean facilities that help genuinely reduce the costs of heat and electricity for municipalities and residents in the areas where they are located – the director added.
During such a trip, local-government officials receive important information about new technologies and waste-management solutions. This enables them to suggest to new investors which solutions should be implemented in their municipalities or counties. They also learn good waste-management practices from other countries.
I pay for the waste I throw away: new ways of charging for waste
During the visit, there are many questions about how residents pay for waste collection, how they sort waste and how the waste-management company complies with EU standards. Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, is an area where the government has banned the disposal of waste in heaps. That is why waste incineration plants operate successfully here.
– Citizens must have full knowledge of what their taxes are used for in terms of waste management – Piet Coopman, managing director of the Federation of Intermunicipal Waste Management Organizations in Flanders (Interafval), explained at a meeting with local-government officials. Piet Coopman – In the future, the greatest challenge will be to reduce waste production per resident over the course of a year. Today, one resident generates 147 kg of waste per year; after 2030, that is to be only 100 kilograms. This is to be achieved through a circular waste-management system, meaning full recycling. That is why we strive to ensure that waste is separated as accurately as possible at the source, by each individual. The “you throw away, you pay” system serves this purpose, charging a fee per kilogram of mixed waste thrown away. We can achieve nothing without people. Citizen engagement, information and transparency of activities are the keys to success. In our case, 83% of Flanders’ residents are satisfied with waste-management policy – the Interafval director reported, citing survey results.
In Flanders, there are also various ways of collecting waste from residents, in addition to the door-to-door or container collection best known in Poland. These include underground containers, mobile selective waste-collection points, mobile central recycling points and even recycling streets, where residents use prepaid cards to dispose of their waste.
Flanders also has various systems for settling waste-collection charges. These include not only charges calculated using fixed rates based on water consumption, but also charges calculated directly according to the kilograms of specific waste used and discarded under the “you throw away, you pay” system. This not only reduces costs for residents but also lowers costs for local governments and increases recycling. If residents pay for the actual weight of mixed waste they throw away, they are less likely to mix it with other heavy waste. This means that heavier waste is placed in the appropriate container and sent for recycling more quickly. This reduces costs for producers, residents and municipalities, as well as disposal costs.
Waste incineration plant: renewable energy
Where waste is burned, a great deal of heat is released, and it would be a waste not to use it. Heat can be used very effectively to generate new energy. In this way, a waste incineration plant kills two birds with one stone: it disposes of waste and produces electricity or heat.
The technology used for waste incineration is intelligent, reliable and clean. When waste is burned, the released heat passes through a separate boiler. Steam is generated there. This steam drives a turbine coupled to what is known as an alternator. The alternator generates electricity. It produces enough power to supply more than 25,000 families with electricity throughout the year.
Depending on demand, it is possible to switch flexibly between electricity and heat at any time. Moreover, when demand for both is low, all the energy can be used to produce hydrogen, a completely zero-emission fuel supplied to a nearby filling station.
Thanks to the district heating network, the new facility removes eight times its own NOx emissions within a direct radius of 1.5 km (data from the University of Antwerp).
Burning our own waste is a path to energy independence
Flanders’ energy landscape faces serious challenges, just as Poland and Lower Silesia do. Flanders also wants us to become less dependent on fossil fuels, not only as fuel but also for heating or producing hot water in homes, or as an energy source for businesses. Around 90% of all home heating systems in Flanders still rely on conventional fossil fuels such as heating oil, natural gas, wood and even coal.
Every year, ISVAG processes approximately 140,000 tonnes of non-recyclable, combustible household waste. Even now, energy from waste incineration generates electricity for more than 25,000 families. Thanks to the energy from a single rubbish bag, an average family in Flanders has enough electricity for more than a day and a half.
Sharing knowledge and experience of best practices is crucial for protecting the planet. Waste-to-energy is the best solution for waste that is no longer suitable for prevention, reuse or material recovery.