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Energy Recovery


Energy recovery is the process by which municipal solid waste is converted into renewable energy.  Energy recovery is happening right now, powering homes and businesses, and it’s helping to address our growing population’s biggest challenges: energy independence, waste diversion, and climate change.

Did you know…?

  • In the U.S., 13% of solid waste is being turned into energy to power homes and businesses. The United States currently processes 13 percent of its solid waste, recovering enough energy to power homes in five states or the equivalent of 28.6 billion barrels of crude oil.
  • Energy recovery facilities mean a lot less waste goes to landfills. Energy recovery facilities can reduce by 90 percent the volume of waste that goes to landfill.
  • Modern energy recovery facilities are greener than ever, with fewer emissions. Today’s technology allows modern energy recovery facilities to process waste with fewer emissions than conventional fuels processed in most power plants. In fact, EPA estimates that energy recovery technology in use today helps prevent the release of 33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
  • Plastics are high value “captured energy.” Plastics have significantly more captured energy than wood, paper or even coal.
  • Plastics help energy recovery technology work better. Because plastics have a higher energy value than other components of municipal solid waste, they help to significantly increase the efficiency of the energy recovery process.

As the nation seeks to increase its energy security and looks to sources of new and alternative energy, energy recovery should be part of the mix. 

To advance the enhanced use of energy from waste in the United States, America’s plastics makers support the following:

  • The use of recycling and energy recovery as waste diversion options to maximize resources, minimize waste sent to landfills, and minimize total impacts to the environment.
  • The use of plastics for their captured energy and their role as part of a national energy solution.
  • A federal program of research, development, and demonstration of emerging waste to energy technologies (e.g., gasification, pyrolysis and plasma arc) to help achieve higher levels of solid waste recovery and associated reductions in greenhouse gases.

To learn more about energy recovery, see the following resources: