The old adage ‘united we stand, divided we fall’ at first glance seems to be appropriate when it comes to waste-to-energy – the subject of our special this issue. A brief look at the views of government, local authorities and waste industry professionals in any country will reveal a multitude of opinions over the most effective methods, the best technologies and the most suitable locations to turn waste streams into energy. It seems that the only thing that can be agreed on is that turn waste into energy we must!
The common misconception about waste-to-energy facilities is that they have to be enormous incineration plants that take over the skyline, in otherwise pretty towns, giving off a foul stench. In fact there are many ways to turn waste to energy, and many of today’s up-and-coming technologies find their home in smaller-scale plants (see Jane Kinsley’s article page 39 and Felicia Jackson’s article page 44). Perhaps this division over which technologies to use, and where, is a good thing for now? It seems to be driving the wheels of creativity in the industry, and will hopefully keep generating effective solutions.
Other points of interest in our last issue of 2008, include a look at the Visys recycling machine – an innovative piece of equipment that has crossed over from the food industry to waste management (page 64), an insight into the closure of open dumps in developing countries by Derek Greedy of ISWA (page 67) and an overview of the upcoming challenges for the transport and collection industry by Malcolm Bates, based on his research at this year’s Recycling and Waste Management ’08 show in Birmingham, UK (page 72).
Please enjoy the issue. We look forward to bringing you more of the stories you want to read in 2009.
Claudine Capel
Editor, Waste Management World
