No, the two approaches complement each other. Thermal treatment only comes into play once prevention and conventional recycling have reached their physical or economic limits. It distroys pollutants and therefore functions as a safety net in waste management.

Because materials such as plastics and fibers lose quality with every recycling cycle and eventually become unsusable. In addition, composite materials, contamination, and hazardous legacy substances make material recycling technically or economically unfeasible for many waste stream.

Almost always. Burying waste in landfills releases highly climate-damaging methane over decades and poses long-term risks to soil and groundwater. Thermal treatment, by contrast, immediately reduces waste volume by more than 90 percent and thereby protects the climate.

To a large extent. Roughly half of residual waste consists of biogenic materials such as wood or paper, whose combustion is entirely climate-neutral. The fossil-based portion (mainly from plastics) does count toward the carbon balance, but this is exactly where modern capture technologies are applied to drastically reduce the remaining CO₂ emissions.

A decisive role for the future. By capturing, storing, and utilizing CO₂ directly at the source, Waste-to-Energy plants will not only be able to operate with zero emissions but can even achieve a negative carbon balance. They would thus evolve from being an emission source into an active contributor to climate protection.

Extremely safe. Thanks to highly advanced, multi-stage filtration systems, modern Waste-to-Energy plants rank among the cleanest and most stricly monitored industrial sectors worldwide. In practice, their emissions are usally well below the already stringent legal limits.

They are valuable sources of raw materials. High-quality metals such as iron, copper, and aluminum are recovered from the remaining slag. The minerals residues are safely reused as substitute construction materials in road building and concrete production.

Essential. Waste-to-Energy plants deliver reliable, baseload-capable electricity and district heating around the clock. Completly independant of sunshine, wind, or weather conditions. They replace fossil fuels, concerve primar resources, and ensure a stable, crisis-resilient energy supply for cities and industry.