Municipal solid waste-to-energy processing for a circular economy in New Zealand

For the success of waste-to-energy in New Zealand, waste-to-energy processing technologies need to reduce their costs (e.g. capital and operational) by generating additional revenue in the form of fuels and other by-products. We focus on municipal solid waste (MSW), the garbage that New Zealand generates in a problematically large amount per capita, proposing that a circular economy approach can safely manage MSW while mitigating increasing energy demands when waste is converted to energy by various MSW-to-energy technologies. The present study reviews the current status of comparative MSW generation, energy deficit, and waste-to-energy processing. Various waste-to-energy technologies are reviewed, their potential and current status in New Zealand are described, and their associated challenges identified to develop a potentially promising waste-to-energy process for a circular economy in New Zealand. Waste-to-energy technologies in New Zealand can achieve commercial success and community readiness levels by using better communication strategies to inform endusers and relevant stakeholders, and adding extra safety layers around their processes. Various combinations of waste-to-energy technologies are recommended for successful waste-to-energy processing in New Zealand, as no technology can effectively serve the purpose of waste-to-energy processing alone.