Canadians Strongly Support Waste to Energy – Poll

The Canadian waste-to-energy (WTE) market has tripled in growth in the past eight years, and a recent poll of residents showed that more than two-thirds of Canadians favor waste to energy.

WTE was seen favorably by 69 percent of Canadians, in a poll by Nielsen earlier this year. Natural gas followed at 59 percent, oil at 37 percent, nuclear at 34 percent and coal at 19 percent. The only alternative fuels that scored better in the poll were solar at 90 percent and wind at 75 percent.

Among WTE technologies, gasification received the most positive support at 60 percent of the respondents, followed by feedstock recycling and solid recovery fuel. Mass burn combustion achieved 50 percent support, according to a news release.

There also is a range of WTE plants and equipment under consideration.

Additionally, the poll reported that that 90 percent of Canadians prefer that non-recyclable plastics go to a WTE facility rather than a landfill.

The poll also showed that Canadians are willing to accept consequences with their WTE choice, as 63 percent of respondents indicated they would support a WTE operation in their immediate community.