Powering Sustainability with Practical Waste-to-Energy Solutions

The world is continuing to adapt to the challenges of energy consumption. And, while we might have rid the world of much of its natural resources, there is something that we do have in abundance that has taken its place—waste. 

In a society that is so dependent on the use of technology and the production of goods, we throw a lot of items away despite recognising the negative impact waste has on the environment. The good news is that policy makers, people, and businesses are continuing to move away from traditional energy-generating methods and are looking for sustainable and renewable alternatives. Such solutions sit alongside innovative ways to turn waste into energy or reuse tech to tackle e-waste across communities.

As the waste-to-energy industry grows, new sustainable solutions may help reduce the pressure on the planet to deal with waste. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what exactly waste-to-energy means and whether it's an option to address tech waste and generate power for homes and businesses.

What is waste-to-energy?

Simply put, waste-to-energy (also known as WtE, energy from waste, and EfW) is a method for converting our waste products into energy, whether that’s electricity or heat, which can then be used in our homes and businesses. It further entrenches the circular economy and can support communities and companies to reduce, reuse and recycle where possible. 

According to reports, 99% of the items people buy are discarded within as little as six months. With the alarming level of waste continuing to rise each year it’s important to keep innovating and finding new ways to limit and make better use of whatever is wasted. When it comes to e-waste specifically, the UK is reportedly a leading offender and the second-largest producer of e-waste globally (after Norway), according to the UN. Around 23.9kg of e-waste per capita is created in the UK each year—of which 31.2% is recycled and reused, with more than two-thirds ending up as waste.

Understanding global and local waste-to-energy solutions

Developed nations already have a strong general waste and e-waste management infrastructure in place, so it’s little surprise that countries like Japan, Germany and the United States are leading the pack, along with Denmark and Sweden processing millions of tonnes of waste each year. 

In the UK too, there are some big-name companies that already use waste-to-energy systems, such as Veolia which identifies waste-to-energy as energy recovery. In the same way, tech giant IBM’s environmental commitment is to procure 90% of the electricity it consumes worldwide from renewable sources by 2030. On the local level, waste-to-energy and reuse agendas can be effective marketing tools to propel small business growth. In general, announcing sustainability goals alongside any recycling agendas, charitable campaigns, and digital inclusion efforts are a key part of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments to boost workplace sustainability. 

Different types of waste-to-energy systems

There is more than one method of creating energy from waste, but before we get to throwing things away we should first consider preventing and minimising waste, and recycling or recovering in greater quantities where possible. Looking at e-waste globally, several factors are known to have fuelled e-waste generation, such as increased spending power and the availability of electronics making it the fastest growing waste stream worldwide. This trend is expected to continue, with the annual e-waste generation forecast at 82 million metric tons in 2030.

However, there are some popular methods of converting waste-to-energy, using rubbish as a fuel source and simply burning the waste (often done through incinerators), gasification, or anaerobic digestion, generating heat and electricity to help power the UK. These processes are as follows: 

• Combustion techniques: involve burning waste materials which in turn creates heat that drives a turbine and ultimately generates electricity. However, there is potential for improvements to this method, such as the removal of pollutants from the burning process.

• Gasification and pyrolysis: two similar methods which involve heating waste materials to produce a chemical reaction that produces a gas. Gasification introduces oxygen or steam to the waste to create the reaction while pyrolysis doesn’t, so the heat required for the creation of gas is lower, and therefore so is the energy used.

• Anaerobic digestion: follows a similar method to pyrolysis except the waste is purely organic, such as food or animal waste.

In addition, landfills produce their own levels of gas from the biodegrading materials found in them. It’s also possible to harness gas production, known as landfill gas recovery, however with less organic material being thrown in landfill this waste-to-energy production method is less effective than others. 

Embracing tech advances to distribute devices

With waste-to-energy production as one way of harnessing discarded goods to create energy from certain products, it’s equally important to find other ways to limit e-waste by reusing the full range of products, such as discarded smartphones, outdated laptops, or unwanted iPads. Rather than throwing them away and exacerbating the problem of e-waste, these unused or ‘wasted’ devices can be reconditioned and reallocated to people who need them.

In recent news, the Department for Education announced the digital revolution in education, setting out plans to use tech and emerging AI resources to help organisations improve digital inclusion. Their proposal includes joining up with Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services to repurpose tech and support the circular economy. The intention is to also modernise the UK’s education system by embracing advances in technology. 

In turn, by reusing otherwise wasted tech products, the Government and industries recognise how essential it has become to improve digital inclusion as well as the access to accurate and reliable technology. 

Supporting waste-to-energy at home

Typically, waste-to-energy production and e-waste initiatives might be reserved for companies as they have the facilities and the means to establish large-scale processing areas. Having said that, efforts to conserve energy and tackle e-waste are gaining traction thanks to Government plans, consumer pressures, and campaigns that encourage individuals and local businesses to come together to repair and reuse tech to benefit their communities.

Although creating a waste-to-energy system at home isn’t something you can just wake up one day and do, you can cut down on your general energy consumption and minimise e-waste by reusing or donating unwanted tech wherever possible.

If you’re interested in the many ways you can repair and reuse technology, learn more about our e-waste made good programme. If you don’t have a device to donate, why not make a valuable contribution instead.