Thermal Waste Conversion as Energy Source – the Polish Legal Context. Selected Issues

Abstract

The article presents Polish and related EU legal basis for thermal waste conversion (in particular municipal waste and waste of municipal origin) as an energy source. It was hypothesized that at the current stage of systemic development of municipal waste management in Polish legal conditions, thermal waste conversion is an extremely important element which not only allows for achieving quantifiable environmental benefits, but also constitutes a source of energy. However, waste incineration cannot be treated as a fundamental element of closed-loop waste management. Waste incineration plants are and should be treated as an element of complementing the waste system, taking into account energy recovery in the cogeneration system, but also the limitations arising from taxonomy. The unquestionable advantage of this type of installation is the possibility of producing thermal energy and a more beneficial impact on the environment than the combustion of fossil fuels.

Keywords

• municipal waste
• energy source
• cogeneration
• taxonomy