This work was part of a major study that examined the policy and technology implications of alternatives for managing the municipal solid wastes (MSW) of New York City. At this time, of the 4.1 million metric tons of MSW collected by the City annually, 16.6% are recycled, 12.4% are combusted in Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants, and the remaining 71% are landfilled. Despite the heterogeneity of organic materials in MSW, the composite molecular structure can be approximated by the organic compound C₆ H₁₀ O₄. A formula was derived that allows the prediction of the heating value of MSW as a function of moisture and glass/metal content and compares well with experimentally derived values. The performance of a leading Waste-to-Energy plant that utilises suspension firing of shredded MSW, processes one million tons of MSW per year, and generates a net of 610 kWh/metric ton was examined. The results of this study showed that WTE processing of the MSW reduces fossil fuel consumption and is environmentally superior to landfilling.

One of the most misunderstood technologies in some parts of the world and widely adopted technologies in others is the recovery of energy and materials by the controlled combustion of post-recycling wastes. This technology is commonly called waste-to-energy, or simply WTE. After all possible efforts for recycling or composting wastes, there remains a large post-recycling fraction that is either landfilled or used as fuel in WTE power plants that also recover metals and minerals. Several nations, e.g., Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany, have succeeded in phasing out landfilling by processing all theãir post-recycling municipal solid wastes (MSW) in WTE power plants. This paper reviews the evolution and importance of WTE in the twenty-first century, with special focus on the world’s largest economies: the EU, US, and China.Graphical abstract