Alternatives to incineration of waste
See also Dr Dick Van Steenis incineration of waste - Will waste be the death of us? - A medical perspective.
Alternatives to waste incineration include reducing, reusing, and recycling waste to minimise its generation, along with more advanced techniques like composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, and gasification to convert waste into valuable resources like biogas, fertiliser, and fuel. Other non-incineration methods include mechanical biological treatment (MBT), which sorts waste and processes it biologically, and autoclaving, specifically for sterilising medical waste using high-pressure steam.
Waste Reduction and Reuse
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3Rs): This hierarchy is the most fundamental alternative, focusing on preventing waste from being generated in the first place, followed by reusing materials, and then recycling them into new products.
Biological and Chemical Treatments
For organic waste, composting breaks down biodegradable materials into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, diverting large amounts of waste from landfills.
Similar to composting, this process breaks down organic waste without oxygen to produce biogas (a renewable energy source) and digestate (a fertiliser).
Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT):
This combines mechanical sorting to recover recyclables with biological processes (like AD or composting) to stabilise the remaining waste.
Non-Incineration Thermal Treatments
Pyrolysis:
This process decomposes waste at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, producing a combustible gas (syngas) and a solid material called biochar.
Gasification:
At very high temperatures, gasification uses steam or oxygen to convert waste into a syngas that can be used for electricity or fuel production.
A high-temperature variant of gasification that uses plasma to convert waste into syngas with minimal residue. Plasma gasification uses extremely high-temperature plasma, generated by an electric arc, to break down organic waste and other materials into a syngas (synthesis gas) composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This energy-intensive process, often more efficient than conventional methods, can handle diverse waste types, including hazardous materials, breaking down toxins into harmless elements and leaving a vitrified slag byproduct. The resulting syngas can then be used for energy generation, fuel synthesis, or chemical production, though the process can have high operational costs and low net energy production.
Specialised Treatment Methods
Autoclaving:
A process for medical waste that uses high-pressure steam to sterilise and decontaminate materials, making them safe for disposal or even reuse.
Alternative Treatment (AT):
Some processes heat waste to disinfect it, then shred and compact it to be used as an alternative fuel source.
Focus on the Waste Hierarchy
Responsible waste management prioritises reducing, reusing, and recycling over more destructive methods like incineration. The goal is a more circular economy where resources are kept in use for as long as possible.
This page was last updated by Ted on 05-Sep-2025