Best Available Techniques for Waste Incineration

3^rd December 2019

After a 5-year review process, the Best Available Techniques (BAT) Conclusions for Waste Incineration (WI) were published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The newly adopted WI BAT Conclusions are the reference for setting permit conditions of the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants. This means that within 4 years from today, all permit conditions of European WtE plants will be reconsidered and, if necessary, updated to ensure compliance with the new requirements.

 “We are very proud of the environmental performances of Waste-to-Energy plants in Europe, which continue to act as a sink for pollution in an integrated waste management, treating the waste that cannot be recycled in an environmentally sound way, while using robust technology and long-term experience. The European Green Deal will be based on pillars such as circular economy and zero pollution. Waste-to-Energy provides the perfect bridge to support the efforts of our society to become more circular while avoiding that substances of concern re-enter the cycle. At the same time it helps to achieve the objectives on air and water quality, soil protection as well as health and environmental preservation as a whole”, said Paul De Bruycker, the President of CEWEP.

WI BAT Conclusions tackle many aspects of how the BAT principle can be considered when writing permits for the installation but does not cover every last detail. For those issues that are left unsaid, CEWEP believes that knowledge transfer is the best strategy to avoid a fragmented – or even incorrect – implementation. For this reason, CEWEP together with other associations published an Explanatory and Guidance document and organises meetings and workshops, directed towards various stakeholders. Legal certainty is a necessary basis to avoid legal disputes on compliance in the future.

A full press release can be downloaded here.