Portugal lacks refuse derived fuel production from municipal solid waste

Abstract

The present study provides an overview on municipal waste management in Portugal, with focus on current status of Refuse Derived Fuel Recovery (RDF), forecasts set by the National strategy and 2020 targets. Considering the official reports on municipal waste management and related legislation, although the capacity (considering MT and MBT) would allow obtaining material for RDF production (high calorific fraction) within the range predicted in the National strategy (0.95-1.2 Mt for 2013), the effective amount sent for RDF production was residual (107,623 t), from which only 29,770 t of RDF were obtained in 2015. A lack of economic viable recovery solutions exists, due to political, economic, legal and technical constraints. The recovery of the high calorific fraction including RDF production is essential to fulfill National environmental targets, thus, it is urgent the revision of current strategies to provide viable alternatives for recovery at a National level. (c) 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK.