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WtE plants with energy recovery as part of Europe’s energy sustainability Cover

WtE plants with energy recovery as part of Europe’s energy sustainability

Open Access
|Aug 2026

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Municipal waste treatment in Europe in 2023 [17,18]

CountriesTreatment, %
RecycledCompostedIncinerated with energy recoveryLandfilledOther
EU29.019.025.022.04.0
Sweden20.219.258.91.10.6
Finland28.915.754.00.50.8
Denmark26.919.151.01.80.1
Switzerland28.723.348.00.00.0
Norway31.410.447.05.45.8
Estonia41.810.647.00.60.0
Belgium33.620.845.00.10.4
United Kingdom (2022)26.216.344.29.21.5
Ireland (2020)29.811.042.516.30.4
Luxembourg31.824.940.92.90.0
Lithuania25.024.340.87.92.0
Netherlands27.630.839.31.40.9
Austria40.821.535.51.70.1
France22.419.634.622.50.2
Germany46.122.629.31.01.1
Poland20.115.025.538.50.9
Italy34.624.221.218.41.0
Portugal12.416.617.453.70.0
Spain20.720.710.648.00.0
Table 2

Gross electricity production and gross derived heat generation EU in 2019–2024 [24]

Gross productionFuelYear
201920202021202220232024
Electricity (GWh)Renewable municipal waste19,00318,86619,56219,37818,59319,519
Non-renewable municipal waste18,59218,34018,77618,58117,81918,465
Total2,882,4962,762,0072,890,1062,792,3452,718,3972,777,146
Heat (TJ)Renewable municipal waste120,662123,996130,395125,861121,919130,886
Non-renewable municipal waste115,969119,393124,487121,227115,797124,503
Total2,345,0202,256,0352,312,6772,124,8152,043,1242,015,961
Table 3

WtE plants and residual waste thermally treated in Europe [28,29]

Countries20192022
WtE plants (unit)Residual waste thermally treated (million Mg)WtE plants (unit)Residual waste thermally treated (million Mg)
Europe49999.0498100.0
Sweden366.16376.83
Finland91.3991.55
Denmark233.58233.55
Switzerland304.07293.85
Norway181.63181.63
Estonia10.2110.21
Belgium173.36173.48
United Kingdom4812.65715.32
Ireland21.2420.81
Luxembourg10.1710.16
Lithuania10.2530.62
Netherlands127.39127.39
Austria112.6122.7
France12414.511614.0
Germany10027.19125.0
Poland71.091.26
Italy376.3366.02
Portugal41.241.08
Spain122.92132.97
Table 4

Incinerated with energy recovery in Europe [18,30]

CountriesYear
20192020202120222023
Incinerated with energy recovery (%)
Sweden52.660.659.759.258.9
Finland55.657.360.455.454.0
Denmark47.553.841.449.051.0
Switzerland47.047.247.747.848.0
Norway49.546.550.051.247.0
Estonia48.449.649.347.747.0
Belgium42.348.444.045.145.0
United Kingdom40.143.342.744.2n/a
Ireland46.542.5n/a12.6n/a
Luxembourg46.743.140.841.540.9
Lithuania16.829.136.737.840.8
Netherlands40.640.840.040.039.3
Austria38.935.835.435.335.5
France31.332.232.232.434.6
Germany31.628.728.328.929.3
Poland21.520.319.820.225.5
Italy20.520.720.219.721.2
Portugal19.820.322.019.217.4
Spain11.010.110.610.310.6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acee-2026-0002 | Journal eISSN: 2720-6947 (formerly 1899-0142) | Journal ISSN: 1899-0142
Language: English
Page range: 1 - 9
Submitted on: Sep 18, 2025
Accepted on: Nov 29, 2025
Published on: Aug 14, 2026
Published by: Silesian University of Technology
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2026 Nonna Pavliuk, Alexandr Sigal, Artem Safiants, published by Silesian University of Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 19 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)