Waste-to-energy (WtE) - in the Polish economic reality in the reference to European countries

摘要

The paper starts with a very brief outline of waste management organization in Poland, including the structure of Regions of Waste Management and the categories of the Regional Installations of Municipal Waste Treatment. Changes made in recent years in this economic sector put an increasing emphasis on obeying the rules of sustainable development. Therefore, the main aim of the article is to analyze the waste-to-energy market potential in Poland (especially on the heat market) compared to other European countries, to demonstrate the capabilities of modernization of the energy sources, especially municipal sector, adapting them for the use biodegradable waste as a fuel. The analysis presents the level of energy recovery from waste, and depicts the structure of waste management with division for recycling, disposal in landfill, thermal treatment with energy recovery and composting in selected countries with varying degrees of economic development. Then it focuses on the study of support and risk mechanisms associated with the economic efficiency of the heating plants and thermal power plants that will use fuel made from waste. Finally, the article discusses four examples of models of municipal economy development (defined as: "Restoration", "Symbiosis" and "Competitive") adapted to the economic, environment and social realities of the Polish regions with different levels of the economic situation and it emphasizes a necessity of proper planning of such investments using modern analytical tools in the field of supporting the process of a decision.