Waste incineration illegally financed

The Portuguese Government, by considering plastic incineration as a form of renewable energy, is allowing the illegal financing of municipal solid waste incineration, disrespecting Directive 2001/77/EC of 27 September 2001.

This Directive, where the European Union Renewable Energy Politic is defined, clearly states that plastic incineration is not a renewable source of energy, because plastic derives from fossil fuels/petrol and therefore electricity generated by this process should not have a financial support.

Considering these elements, Quercus presents today a complaint to the European Commission against the Portuguese State.

What does the Renewable Energy Directive state?

This Directive establishes that:

1 – “Renewable Energies” are non fossil and renewable energy sources, like biomass, thereby excluding plastic which derives from petrol, a fossil fuel and non renewable.

 2 – “Biomass” is the biodegradable fraction of urban wastes, such as: paper, cardboard, and food waste

3 – The support of renewable energies should be made accordingly to other European Union objectives, particularly respecting the waste hierarchy. Therefore, non-separated municipal solid waste incineration should not be promoted as renewable energy, every time this process jeopardizes recycling.

What is Portugal doing?

Contrary to what the European Directive establishes, in Portugal, all energy produced in incineration plants is paid as renewable energy, and nor only the fraction resulting from biomass burning.

By the other hand, although the recycling of packaging waste is still very low in municipal systems that have incineration capabilities, as we can see in Lipor (11,9% recycling) and Valorsul (12,5%), values that clearly state a stagnation between 2001/2002, incineration is still being promoted through the price paid for electricity sold to the National Network, illegally lowering the costs of incineration in 25 to 30%.

This illegality, in a moment when some other municipalities express the intention of installing two new incineration plants, one in the Central Region (Aveiro and Coimbra Districts) and another in S. Miguel - Azores, needs to be immediately corrected, so that recycling can still have a future in Portugal.

Finally, Quercus considers highly regrettable that in our country, while incineration of wastes resulting from non-renewable resources (plastic) is being supported, no clear and effective incentive is being given to more environmentally sound ways to use wastes to produce renewable energies, namely:

-          Electric energy and heat resulting from forests wastes;

-          Biogas originated by organic wastes;

-          Biodiesel (diesel substitute) resulting from used vegetable oils

Lisbon, 26 of June 2003

Quercus – National Association for Nature Conservation

Contacts: Rui Berkemeier +351 934256581, +351 217788473, Pedro Carteiro +351 934285343