A Wasteful Investment?

Waste incineration plants are currently the UK's dirtiest means of generating electricity. This country currently has around 60 of these 'energy from waste' plants. Annually, they burn around 16m tonnes of waste, generating about 3% of the UK's electricity. Obviously, 'energy from waste' plants reduce the material that has to go to landfill. Without carbon capture, however, they emit very high levels of 'greenhouse gas'. Their emissions are actually markedly worse than those from plants that burn gas or wood. The UK pension fund, Aviva, is said to be currently facing a £350m investment loss on 3 waste incinerator plants. Between 2015 and 2023, these plants received £480m in loans (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/20/uk-pension-fund-loses-350m-waste-incinerator-power-plants). Fairly obviously, waste incineration plants aren't currently a good UK investment. Although they reduce the need for landfill (where methane can be generated), environmentalists think the best way of dealing with waste is to markedly reduce its production. This especially applies to our production and use of plastics.