© Sabrina Backes / RTL
163,000 tonnes of waste were burnt at the Leudelange incineration plant last year, a 2022 report by the Association of Municipal Waste Management (SIDOR) shows. More than 50% could have been avoided with correct recycling.
The Leudelange incineration plant operates 24/7 and burns up to 20 tonnes of waste per hour. Out of the 163,000 tonnes of waste collected at the plant, 128,000 tonnes came from SIDOR towns in the cantons of Luxembourg, Esch and Capellen.
More than 100 lorries bring waste to Leudelange on a daily basis. What becomes apparent when looking at the types of waste: People still struggle to separate trash correctly.
30% of misplaced waste is of organic nature, 16% is paper and cardboard, and plastics are responsible for 15%. This means that residual waste should be reducible by more than 50%, which is only possible through correct recycling, says SIDOR president and Luxembourg City alderman Patrick Goldschmidt.
After the burning process, the remaining waste slag is transported to Germany where it is used in road construction. Last year, 28,000 tonnes of slag were collected in Leudelange.
When it comes to emissions, SIDOR is far below the authorised rate. Goldschmidt noted that even the heat from the process has further uses: "We produce a lot with the things that we are burning. The plant operator sends 91,500 MWh electric energy into the Enovos grid. That covers the needs of 33,000 households here in the country."
The thermic energy can be used to heat over 3,000 households, further noted the Alderman. This shows the importance of keeping technologies up to date, which is why close to €17 million are set to be invested into modernising the Leudelange plant, concluded Goldschmidt.
