Did you know…
How can Waste-to-Energy help preserving dwindling Phosphorus reserves? With little Phosphorus resources in the EU and worldwide reserves depleting rapidly, action is needed to use this resource sustainably. But what is the Phosphorus cycle, and where are the biggest savings to be made? While losses occur throughout the Phosphorus usage chain, those linked with food waste and sewage sludge are comparatively small. Still, the Waste Hierarchy should be applied to the food chain, whereas less food wastage and quality composting can help preserving Phosphorus without major drawbacks.
When it comes to sewage sludge, this is more complex because sludge inherently contains many challenging substances, ranging from bio-pollutants and microplastics to heavy metals. Waste-to-Energy constitutes the most promising solution, because mono-incineration of sewage sludge enables phosphorus recovery without risks for agricultural soils that could come from spreading contaminated sludges. Waste-to-Energy plants operating as mono-incinerators of sewage sludge are bound to help closing the phosphorus loop without spreading pollutants.
European Commission, Green Paper on Phosphorus
Combustion as non-waste
Activity Report 2013 | ESWET 17