Page 33 - Waste-to-Energy in the Danube Strategy Region. Challenges and Prospects

2.6 Conclusion

WtE technologies face a number of challenges, and every new project needs to overcome each of

them. The challenges presented above fall into five categories: political, economic, technical and
environmental, infrastructural, and social. Addressing each of them separately, however, is not

optimal, as there is much overlap between them. These issues should therefore be addressed

through a more holistic approach.

Firstly, political challenges also impact economic challenges at the same time. Political
support and planning is necessary to introduce economically stable waste management systems,

creating a market system where WtE plants are competitive. Gradually introducing landfill taxes is

a political solution that is proven to work in channelling waste streams higher up the waste

hierarchy towards recycling and recovery operations. Having stable political support and a
sustainable market environment also attracts investors to such projects. DSR countries can draw

on the experiences of other European states, including Austria, Germany and Slovenia, to

effectively implement such taxes and other rules and thereby support WtE technology while also

avoiding excess capacities. Political challenges are therefore impossible to separate from
economic issues.

Secondly, there is considerable overlap among infrastructural, technical and environmental

challenges. These issues can also have knock-on effects for economic issues and social

acceptance. For example, waste deliveries by trucks increase the production of emissions and
traffic situation within the region, thus presenting both an environmental and social hurdle. The

technical requirements of WtE facilities are closely connected with infrastructural conditions, such

as connection to the electricity grid or district heating network. In turn, these issues can impact

both the capital and operating costs of the given facility.
Lastly, the social acceptance issue has strong linkages to all other challenges. For example,

adopting the best available technology can not only solve ecological challenges but in turn help

to gain social acceptance due to the decreased local emissions. Likewise, having a clearly

communicated political agenda and laws setting forth the justifications for building WtE plants,
including environmental benefits and job creation, makes the social acceptance issue less

Project co-funded by the European Union
27