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Energy technology, as decision-making should be done only based on facts. Waste-to-Energy is indispensable for sustainable waste management in the perspective of a circular economy. As the voice of the European technology suppliers, the interest is to develop Waste-to-Energy beyond the countries where it has already been successfully implemented and where landfilling has been minimised. Many countries in Europe are still barely recycling anything and landfilling all the rest, which must change if the EU is truly committed to becoming a source of inspiration to the rest of the world when it comes to climate and energy issues. Waste-to-Energy is part of this solution. This is why we are glad to see the steady increase of Waste-to-Energy in countries where it was not present before, such as Ireland or the Baltic countries.
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EME: How expansive is ESWET’s influence within Europe at present and how has this influence grown since the Association began? DB: When ESWET was founded, there was no specific voice for the suppliers of Waste-to-Energy, although other stakeholders were already promoting the general sector. We had to establish a strong network within the EU
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institutions and collaborate with other stakeholders in Brussels to create the right framework for the technology; which we continue to do up to this day. With its members being technical experts and its Secretariat focused on public affairs, ESWET is a complementary voice to other waste management associations, delving deeper into technology and supplier-specific topics. For instance, ESWET took the lead in the Climate Correction Factor for the R1 Formula, a technical dossier to assess climatic conditions from various EU locations and the impact these would have on the demand for the energy produced by WtE plants. Working with the European Commission, ESWET’s technical expertise has served as the basis for EU legislation.
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