Sweden is at the forefront of technology when it comes to Waste to Energy. The energy produced using their waste generate both heat and electricity, resources that are invaluable in a locale such as Scandinavia. The success of their waste management program – only 4% of their waste goes to landfills – is such that they have to import trash from Norway to satisfy their energy and heat needs. An examination of the implementation of the waste to energy system in operation in Stockholm, Sweden’s largest city, could prove vital to understanding how it can be implemented here in NYC.
1940 First Waste to Energy Plant is built in Sweden (Fortum 2011)
1948 District heating grids introduced to Sweden, which provides outlets for heat produced during the conversion of waste to energy. The compatibility of Waste to energy here is two fold. Firstly, this technology is more efficient at producing heat than it is in producing energy. And secondly centralized production of heat is also more efficient than localized boilers. (Williams 2011)
1967 Establishment of Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the National Licensing Board for Environmental Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture. Swedish EPA established environmental regulations and the Licensing Board reviewed the development of industrial plants. (Swedish EPA 2010)
1970 Hogdalen Waste-to-Energy Power plant commissioned by the city of Stockholm. (Fortum 2011)
1979 Hogdalen Plant connected to district heating.(Fortum 2011)
1981 Moratorium on new incinerators put in place because of growing concerns about dioxins. (Yarte 1999)
1987 Ministry of Environment established in Sweden. They gave more localized control over environmental issues to county administrative boards. They also formalized the sectorial principle environmental policy. Agencies that the EPA has no direct control over, must now include environmental considerations in their policy making. (Swedish EPA 2010)
Moratorium on new incinerators repealed. (Yarte 1999)
1991 A tax on CO2 of 0.25 Swedish Kronor per kg which is about $100 per ton on the use of oil, coal, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, and aviation fuel used in domestic travel was established. This incentivized the use of alternative fuel sources, one of which was Waste-to-Energy. (Wilson 2011)
1999 EU Landfill Directive introduced that requires member states to accept stringent technical requirements for landfilling wastes. This drives the prices for waste disposal in landfills larger, thereby making the Waste-to-Energy option more sensible. (EU Waste Directive 1999)
2000 Tax is imposed on all waste destined for landfills. It is set at 250Krona/ton or 39$/ton in its introduction. This tax was a disincentive and served to cut Sweden’s landfilling rate to what is currently 4%. (Averfall 2007)
2002 Combustible waste is banned by law from being put into landfills in Sweden. The only other way to get rid of it is through waste-to-energy. (Yarte 1999)
EU Directive on waste incineration is put into effect by Sweden. These laws led to the retrofitting of active plants, to meet the more stringent guidelines on emissions in the air, ground or water. (EU Incineration Directive 2000)
2004 Hogdanen plant capacity is expanded to 700 000 tons of waste. (Fortum 2011)
2005 Swedish government proposes waste management plans that set a target of producing 50 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and achieving complete carbon neutrality by 2050. (Swedish EPA 2005)
Landfilling of organic waste made illegal in Sweden. (Swedish EPA 2005)
2006 Tax is increased to 435 Krona per ton or 67$/ton on waste heading to landfills. (Averfall 2007)
European Union recognizes Waste-to-Energy technology as a renewable form of energy. European Union Waste Framework Directive treats the technology as another form of recycling.
2009 49% of all waste or roughly 236.2kg of trash per person was converted into energy. This translates to 2,173,000 tons of household waste and 2,497,830 tons of industrial waste that were treated by incineration. (Eurostat 2009)
2010 Swedish Generation Goal: “The overall goal of environmental policy is to hand over to the next generation a society in which the major environmental problems have been solved.”(Swedish EPA 2012)
2012 Sweden imports 800 000 tons of trash from neighboring Norway for incineration and gets paid for it. They produce, heat and electricity with the said waste, and return the byproducts of the process to Norway to be landfilled. (Ostund 2012)
2020 The goal is to completely eliminate dependency on oil for energy and heat. This would mean expansion in existing capacities in alternate sources of energy including incineration.(Swedish EPA 2005)
2050 Complete carbon neutrality must be achieved.
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Citations:
“Waste – Landfill Directive 1999.” – Environment. European Union, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
Ostlund, Catarina. “Living on Earth: Database Error.” Interview by Gellerman. Living on Earth. Public Radio International, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=12-P13-00025>.
“Summary of the Current EU Waste Legislation.” Municipal Waste Europe. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
“DOCUMENT 135: United Nations Convention (1985) and Protocol (1987) on Ozone Depletion.” The Environmental Debate: A Documentary History. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2011. Credo Reference. Web. 19 March 2013.
Fortum Corporation Waste to Energy Sustainablity Solution, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMp-qorjPQI&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
“New Emission Limits for Waste-to-energy Plants in Sweden: By Gunnar Bergvall, National Environmental Protection Board, Box 1302, S-171 25 Solna, Sweden.” Waste Management & Research 5, no. 3 (September 1987): 403–406. doi:10.1016/0734-242X(87)90091-7.
Shaub, Walter M., and Wing. Tsang. “Dioxin Formation in Incinerators.” Environmental Science & Technology 17, no. 12 (December 1, 1983): 721–730. doi:10.1021/es00118a007.
“Environmental Objectives.” – Enviromental Objctives Portal. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
“Towards a Greener Future with Swedish Waste to Energy, The Worlds Best Example.“ Averfall Sverige: Swedish Waste Management
Yarte, Nini. “THIS WEEK; SWEDEN EXPANDS INCINERATION PLANTS, BANS LANDFILLS.” Business World 12 Apr. 1999: 32. 1999. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
