Market Trends of United States Waste to Energy Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the US Waste to Energy Market according to our research experts:
Thermal Based Waste to Energy Conversion to Dominate the Market
- Thermal technology is expected to account for the highest market share in the worldwide waste-to-energy market during the forecast period, owing to the increasing development of waste incineration facilities worldwide.
- It is estimated that plants, which utilize cogeneration of thermal power (heating and cooling), together with electricity generation, can reach optimum efficiencies of 80%.
- In the present scenario, incineration is the most well-known waste-to-energy technology for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing. However, waste-to-energy technologies, particularly incineration, produce pollution and carry potential health safety risks. To reduce particulate and gas-phase emissions, incineration plant owners have adopted a series of process units for cleaning the flue gas stream, which has, in turn, led to a significant improvement in environmental sustainability.
- In 2021, nearly 431 trillion British thermal units of energy derived from waste were consumed in the United States. To reduce particulate and gas-phase emissions, the owners of incineration plants have adopted a series of process units for cleaning the flue gas stream, which has, in turn, led to a significant improvement in terms of environmental sustainability.
- In May 2022, New Jersey-based waste management company Covanta Holding Corporation announced that it is making enough electricity to power 18,000 homes from the waste collected from American Airlines, Quest Diagnostics, Sunny Delight, and Subaru through thermal-based technology.
- Hence, owing to the above points and the recent developments, thermal-based waste-to-energy is expected to dominate the United States Waste-to-Energy Market during the forecast period.
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Increasing Recycling Rate of Waste in the United States to Restrain the Growth of the Market
- The waste recycling rate in the United States has been growing in recent days due to the increase in population and growing waste across the country. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the recycling rate has increased from less than seven percent in 1960 to the current rate of 32 percent.
- The recycling of waste offers various environmental benefits by reducing air and water pollution. In the year 2021, the country witnessed 4701.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions, which is comparatively lower than 4980.9 million tonnes of Co2 emissions generated in 2019.
- In 2021, 64 U.S. power plants generated about 13.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from burning about 28 million tonnes of combustible MSW for electricity generation. Biomass materials accounted for about 61% of the weight of the combustible MSW and for about 45% of the electricity generated.
- Also, in the year 2021, only 5% of the plastic waste generated by United States households was recycled. The Americans discarded 51 million tons of wrappers, bottles, and bags, and about 309 lb of plastic per person, of which almost 95 percent ended up in landfills, and oceans or scattered in the atmosphere in tiny toxic particles.
- The new government policies are aimed at restricting high carbon emissions. This factor is hindering the growth of the incineration process. In addition, the increase in recycling of municipal solid waste to 60% by 2035 is expected to affect the market for incineration as well.
- Owing to the above points, the increasing recyling rate of waste in the United States is expected to restrain the growth of the country's waste-to-energy market during the forecast period.
