An assessment of biomass as an energy source: The case of energy from waste

Given that biomass plays a part in a complex natural cycle of decay and re-growth, providing the feedstock for a variety of often slow and subtle natural cycles, there are clearly limits to how much can be burnt without undermining key biological processes. This paper focuses on energy from waste, since, we argue, waste combustion is one of the more problematic options in terms of environmental sustainability, and we attempt to make a preliminary life cycle assessment of its impact. This suggests that the overall impact will depend not just on the total amount of wastes combusted, but also on their specific organic qualities, and on their role if they had not been diverted, in particular their role in maintaining soil quality. Given that soil plays a significant part in the process of carbon sequestration, we argue that consideration should be given to the concept of conservation of organic potentials.