Incineration in Denmark

Incineration in Denmark
Denmark has a long tradition for incinerating waste, and the first plant for incineration was established in 1903. This facility was built in Frederiksberg just next to Copenhagen, in connection with a new hospital. The incineration plant was first of all a practical solution to the fact that it was becoming more and more difficult to locate suitable locations for landfilling, but it was also an, at the time, innovative way of creating steam, hot water and electricity for the new hospital.

Concurrently with lacking space for landfilling sites, other larger cities followed the example of Frederiksberg, and in the beginning of the 20th century, district heating became quite widespread. In 1973 the oil crisis gave incineration a big push forwards. Followed by this crisis, the Danish ministry for energy was established in 1976 and one of its biggest tasks was to make Denmark independent of oil. This was the same time where the infrastructure for district heating was being established in most towns in Denmark. In 1997 the ban on landfilling of all waste which is suitable for recycling or incineration was introduced and this gave the incineration sector yet another push.

Today, the Danish technology for incineration has proven to be both efficient and reliable. Current Danish waste incineration plants produce approx. 20 % of all district heating and 5 % of the electricity consumption, and the plants’ total energy outcome (sale) is close to 95 %. The slag (bottom ash after waste incineration) is primarily used for road construction purposes after a curing and metal-removing stage, while the flue gas cleaning product is landfilled at controlled sites for hazardous wastes. In all, the sector has proven an international success in the export of technologies and knowhow for Denmark.

Danish incineration plants are in most cases owned by municipal or intermunicipal companies and a steady supply of combustible waste originating from the owner municipalities is guaranteed. It is likely that the plants will have to be changed into company ownership structures separated from other public affairs and acting on commercial waste markets in the future. This is an outcome of a new Danish governmental proposal which has been presented in order to ensure more competition in the treatment of combustible municipal solid waste in Denmark and with an expectation of efficiency gains in the sector.

Sources

Experiences with waste incineration for energy production in Denmark

100 years of waste incineration in Denmark

Waste incineration – recovery of energy and material resources

From landfilling to recovery

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Incineration
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