The Ambiguous Relation Between Waste Incineration and Waste Prevention

Abstract

Waste incineration technologies are crucial elements of many modern waste management concepts. But from a sustainable resource management point of view especially the qualitative and quantitative prevention of waste will gain importance in the future as the generation of waste is more and more shifted into developing and emerging countries. The German case study highlights the risk of path dependencies and load logics caused by billion investments in waste incineration plants and their contradicting effects on the recovery of secondary raw materials. Conclusions can be drawn on the importance of integrating the thermal recovery of waste in a much more systematic way in existing socio-technical systems of waste management. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012.