The largest waste-to-energy facility in the world will generate enough power to light up over 100,000 homes.

It’s hard to believe that things like an empty cereal box, a banana peel, or a deflated football could help power your home. But in Dubai, nearly half of the city's waste contributes to generating household energy.

A significant portion of this waste is processed at a plant run by the Warsan Waste Management Company.

"Around 45% of Dubai's total waste is brought to this plant," shares Tim Clarke, CEO of the company.

Since its launch in March, the Warsan plant is set to convert 2 million metric tons of waste annually into electricity, enough to power about 135,000 homes, as reported by the company.

Known as a waste-to-energy plant, about 13% of global urban waste is processed in such facilities, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. This approach to trash disposal is common across Europe, as well as in countries like Japan, China, and the US. However, Dubai’s plant stands out due to its massive scale.

"It’s the largest facility of its kind anywhere in the world," states Clarke.

"We operate at an impressive 34% efficiency in generating electricity, which is significantly higher than the typical energy waste plant. This is partly due to the ability to operate at higher temperatures and pressures thanks to the size of the facility," Clarke explains.

The power of waste

Turning waste into energy involves three key steps: burning the trash, using the heat to produce steam, and using that steam to spin a turbine that generates electricity.

This waste-to-energy process has been in use for over a century, but modern plants have far better control over the pollutants released during incineration. Flue gas treatment technology enables the facility to filter harmful substances and prevent them from entering the atmosphere.

"We inject chemicals into the reactor to remove harmful elements like heavy metals, sulfur compounds, and other toxic particles, which are then captured and disposed of," explains the CEO.

Not all pollutants are eliminated. Carbon dioxide, a key contributor to climate change, is still released into the air. However, since the plant generates electricity, replacing fossil fuel combustion, Warsan Waste Management argues that the overall environmental impact is still positive.

"We do release CO2, but we also produce 200 megawatts of electricity that would otherwise come from fossil fuels, primarily gas in the UAE," says Clarke. "This helps reduce about 1.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions annually."

Facilities like the one in Dubai go a step further by maximizing resource recovery. Metals are sorted for recycling, and the ash left from burning waste is collected and reused in road construction projects.

Clarke mentions that out of the 5,500 tons of waste the facility processes daily, only 200 tons of unusable residue remain after all the recycling and energy recovery steps.

The need for recycling

Waste-to-energy plants provide an alternative to landfills, which are responsible for about 11% of global methane emissions.

"When we continue to dump more waste in open landfills, we are generating unmanaged methane, which in turn creates a major emissions problem," explains Bryan Staley, CEO of the US-based Environmental Research and Education Foundation.

"Waste-to-energy plants offer a better solution, as they produce fewer emissions compared to traditional landfills," he adds.

Some environmental organizations, like Zero Waste Europe, argue that using waste to generate electricity may undermine efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling initiatives.

A government report released last year states that the UAE currently recycles 20% of its treated waste, with a goal of reaching 90% by 2050. Staley emphasizes recycling as the most energy-efficient and eco-friendly approach to waste management.

"People might think, 'I'll just throw it in the trash, and it will be dealt with,'" says Staley. "But your paper and plastics have far more value if they're recycled and reused, rather than being sent to a waste-to-energy facility. These materials can be transformed into new products."