Analysis of a sustainable system for energy recovery from municipal waste in Croatia

Purpose – This paper seeks to focus on energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) in Croatia. The state strategy is based on the mechanical and biological treatment of waste in the future waste management centers (WMC). Left over after the treatment is waste that can be used as fuel (e.g. RDF).Design/methodology/approach – Starting from the geographical distribution of waste generation (quantities and transport distances), taking into account the costs of collection, transfer and thermal treatment, recommendations on optimal number and size of the dedicated waste‐to‐energy (WtE) plants in Croatia as well as their potential locations are given. The opportunity of the cement industry to utilize ash from thermal treatment of waste in the process of the cement production and the RDF as a substitute fuel is also examined.Findings – By varying the number of WMCs, the minimal specific cost of waste collection of €33 is obtained, for maximal number of WMCs, which is 21. The optimal capacity of WtE facility ...