Recent WtERT News
Discussion of ZWE report on dioxins from WtE plants
In January Zero Waste Europe published an article on dioxin emissions in three European waste-to-energy plants. Here Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis, director of the Earth Engineering Center at Columbia University discusses the report. From article of Waste Management World In January 2023, Waste Management World (WMW) published a biomonitoring research on waste incinerator emissions in three countries by Zero Waste Europe (ZWE). In the past fifteen years, scientists [...]
Guidelines on Public-Private Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals in Waste-to-Energy Projects for Non-Recyclable Waste: Pathways towards a Circular Economy
The Sixth session of the Working Party on PPPs has adopted a second document contributing to the cross-cutting theme of the 69th session of the ECE on the circular economy transition. Read the UNECE “Guidelines on PPPs for the SDGs in Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Projects for Non-Recyclable Waste: Pathways towards a Circular Economy“ with: 👉 7 practical recommendations to ensure that PPP WTE projects are “fit for purpose” for the SDGs; 👉 The [...]
Training Workshop of Waste-to-Energy for North Africa
The Training Workshop of Waste-to-Energy for North Africa was successfully held online on December 5th-6th, 2022. This training workshop was hosted by Zhejiang University, jointly organized by International Consultant Committee of Waste to Energy (ICCWtE), China Everbright Environment Group Limited and Global WtERT Council - Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, USA. According to the World Bank's What a Waste 2.0 report, by 2050, total [...]
The Global WtERT Council represented by more than 24 Universities and Research Institute share an open letter for world leaders at COP27
Letter from Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis1 and all members of the Global WtERT Council2 an international consortium of universities representing 24 Nations to Organizing Committee of COP27 Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University (https://earth.engineering.columbia.edu) Global Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council, (wtert.org) We like to bring to your attention that the generation of methane from waste dumps and landfills is one of the main sources of [...]
2020 Survey of European WTE plants
The 2021 Waste-to-Energy (WtE) survey shows that WtE plants are still much needed. Thermal treatment in WtE plants continues to represent an indispensable and solid pillar in waste management. Furthermore, responses from operators clearly show the sector as a driver of innovation, through their work in carbon capture solutions and hydrogen production. The survey also demonstrates that putting a higher burden on waste incineration [...]
WtERT Asia Meeting in Columbia News
2022 Waste-to-Energy Research And Technology (WtERT) Asia Meeting: Going into New Technologies and Best Practices to Promote Wide Application. This meeting was co-organized by Global WtERT Council and Columbia Global Center-Beijing. Please click the link to Columbia Global Center website for more information.
Analysis of Reshaping Plastics Report
Prof. Nickolas Themelis reviewed the data presented in the Reshaping Plastics report of April 2022 These data show that the EU manages better its plastic wastes than the US:: -Recycling (mech+chemical) 13.9% of total; adding the 2 million tons exported and assuming they all go to recycling, Total recycling 21.8%. Compare with about 10% in US. - Plastic [...]
Divert Biodegradable Waste from Landfills to Cut Climate-Warming Methane Emissions
In a complementary measure, landfills should also be outfitted with facilities to monitor and control existing methane emissions. By Nickolas J. Themelis November 09, 2021 Please click here to see the link.
Critical role of waste management industry to combatting climate change
Waste sector critical to combat climate change What role does the waste and resources management sector play in driving actions to achieve net zero? From HELENA NAGELER-PETRITZ First published: 05 November 2021 Click here to see news: https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/rpg2.12315
Paper by Prof. Psomopoulos of University of Western Attica and other WtERT-Greece members on the significance of WTE in Europe
The role of energy recovery from wastes in the decarbonization efforts of the EU power sector Constantinos S. Psomopoulos, Kyriaki Kiskira, Konstantinos Kalkanis, Helen C. Leligou, Nickolas J. Themelis First published: 26 October 2021 Click here to see publication: https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/rpg2.12315 Abstract: Wastes contain large quantities of energy that can be extracted using a variety of methods. European Union has established a waste-to-energy initiative to [...]