Waste not, want not: the private and social costs of waste-to-energy production

Communities, and whole countries, are considering implementing the quickly-evolving technologies of waste-to-energy (WTE) production. Unlike other energy sources, waste-to-energy plants have two objectives. In addition to generating useful energy, these plants are designed to ensure the safe and effective disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). Energy production and solid waste management both involve complicated and large-scale production processes which generate substantial environmental impacts. Traditional analysis of the desirability of adopting WTE technology has compared its costs and benefits either to other forms of energy production or to other forms of solid waste management. Traditional analysis also tends to focus on private production costs with limited consideration of broader social environmental impacts. Using data from Germany, Sweden, the UK and the US, this paper bundles together the energy generation and waste disposal services offered by WTE and estimates the associated private production and social environmental costs. In so doing, this economic study provides insight into whether WTE plants can compete on the energy production side with fossil-fuel-fired plants and on the waste management side with landfill disposal.