The Sixth International “Waste to Energy 2014” Conference was held from 24 – 25 March, in Prague at the Clarion Congress Hotel.

Various waste disposal approaches were suggested and discussed by government representatives and different companies at this conference. One group preferred the use of landfills, but most of the audience supported the implementation of the modern methods of incineration with the simultaneous production of electricity and heat.

Interesting reports were given during the discussion, e.g. professor Stehlík, the director of the Institute of Process and Environmental Engineering FSI VUT in Brno, expressed his preference for the construction of smaller incinerator plants with a capacity of 2, 000 tonnes of waste to meet the needs of this region.

At present, there are 3 million tonnes of waste in the Czech Republic. This number is expected to increase up to 5 million tonnes by 2020.
Moreover, the Czech Republic has delayed accepting EU directives in its legislation that is barrier for using EU financial resources.

Frequently mentioned solutions to incinerate waste in Austrian or German incinerator plants are not feasible due to high transportation expenses, and in addition, the produced raw material would remain in these countries for future recycling, without any effect on the Czech economy.

In the Czech Republic, in spite of partial waste incineration in three incinerator plants, such as ZEVO (Liberec, Praha-Malešice, Brno), or in the steel or cement plants, there is still a problem of waste disposal that must be decided. Part of it is returned to industry for recycling. But about 1.5 million tonnes of municipal waste is left that could be incinerated while producing electricity and heat that would save on fuel (gas and coal). Incineration is the cheaper way to produce energy compared to other types of renewables. Moreover, it is important to think about the impact on the environment.

To conclude, the following priority tasks in the development of the waste disposal field should be highlighted and, as a result of efficient energy production, the improvement in social welfare and protection of the environment:

– fulfil the EU directives concerning waste disposal, but the government does not have enough financial recourses for rapid development of this sector;

– as of today, the law on waste disposal is not accepted in the Czech Republic;

– decide with the EU about the extension of the allotted term of resolving waste disposal problem  from 2020 to 2025;

– implement a state energy policy for waste recycling as a source of heat and energy;

– involve private companies and their capital in this field.

SYNECTA a.s. comprehends the importance and necessity of resolving this problem, and is preparing a feasibility study of already applicable methods, and introducing new technology to implement more efficient methods of waste disposal and the reduction of emissions.