Biomass content in combusted municipal waste in Estonia

This research paper examines the material composition and carbon content of mixed municipal solid waste combusted at the first waste incineration plant in Estonia and the Baltic States to determine the ratio of biogenic to fossil carbon.

• A one-year manual waste sorting study and laboratory analysis determined that the biomass fraction of combusted municipal solid waste is approximately 52% on a dry weight basis.
• Fossil carbon represents about 40% of the total carbon on a wet weight basis, resulting in annual average fossil CO2 emissions of approximately 429 kg per ton of combusted municipal waste.
• Under Estonian legislation, the biomass fraction of municipal solid waste used for energy production is considered a renewable energy source eligible for government subsidies, and its CO2 emissions are treated as biogenic and climate neutral.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2017). Biomass content in combusted municipal waste in Estonia. https://www.sei.org/publications/biomass-content-in-combusted-municipal-waste-in-estonia/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Biomass content in combusted municipal waste in Estonia. 2017. https://www.sei.org/publications/biomass-content-in-combusted-municipal-waste-in-estonia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Biomass content in combusted municipal waste in Estonia |date=19 January 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/biomass-content-in-combusted-municipal-waste-in-estonia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2017biomass, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Biomass content in combusted municipal waste in Estonia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/biomass-content-in-combusted-municipal-waste-in-estonia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }