Quantities and Qualities of Municipal Waste Incinerator Residues in the Netherlands

Abstract With an annual combustion capacity of 2.6 Mt the Dutch Municipal Waste Incinerators (MWIs) produce some 570 kt of bottom ash, 90 kt of fly ash and some 6 kt of residues stemming from Air Pollution Control (APC) devices. With the government policy on Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) aiming at incineration of the combustible fraction rather than land-filling, the production of MWI-residues will almost double by the end of this decade. As the quality of these residue determines whether (and in what way) they can be applied usefully or have to be disposed of, much attention is paid to its physical and environmental properties. Knowledge of (fluctuations in) quality also provides a basis for choosing the best technique for quality improvement, which may be imminent due to tighter legislation in the near future.