Waste-to-energy is the treatment of waste to produce electricity, heat or fuel. The most common form is incineration with energy recovery, in which waste is burned and the heat drives a steam turbine. Related routes are refuse-derived fuel and co-processing in cement kilns.
It sits below recycling in the waste hierarchy, because the material is destroyed after one use and its carbon is released. Its proper role is for residues that cannot be recycled, such as heavily contaminated waste and much multilayer plastic, where it is preferable to a landfill. In India, plastic sent for energy recovery can count towards part of an EPR obligation, but it is not recycling and does not provide recycled content. Burning plastic that could have been recycled wastes the energy and resources embedded in it.
