Economic aspects of thermal treatment of solid waste in a sustainable WM system

• Provides a comprehensive review of the applied economic literature dedicated to WtE.
• Offers a detailed discussion of the main assumptions that characterize alternative positions.
• Highlights the most robust achievements obtained by the applied economic research in this field.
• Compares economic and non-economic valuation techniques.

This paper offers a systematic review of the literature of the last 15 years, which applies economic analysis and theories to the issue of combustion of solid waste. Waste incineration has attracted the interest of economists in the first place concerning the comparative assessment of waste management options, with particular reference to external costs and benefits. A second important field of applied economic research concerns the market failures associated with the provision of thermal treatment of waste, that justify some deviation from the standard competitive market model. Our analysis discusses the most robust achievements and the more controversial areas. All in all, the economic perspective seems to confirm the desirability of assigning a prominent role to thermal treatments in an integrated waste management strategy. Probably the most interesting original contribution it has to offer concerns the refusal of categorical assumptions and too rigid priority ladders, emphasizing instead the need to consider site-specific circumstances that may favor one or another solution.