Waste not, want not

The Polish city of Krakow has a new US$250 million waste-to-power plant thanks to Korean engineering company POSCO E&C.

The facility is the largest daily waste incinerating plant in Poland, capable of processing 220,000 tonnes of household waste annually using eco-friendly methods. By using the heat from the incineration process, the plant produces 11 MWh of electricity and supplies 35 MWh of district heating. In addition, the ash by-product is used as material for road construction.

The project took three-and-a-half years to complete, including trial operations over a seven-month period. The plant was awarded the SARP Award of the Year 2015 by the Association of Polish Architects, in recognition of its design, and it was also among the top 10 public investment projects for 2016.

Poland has strict environmental standards in place, overseen by the Department of Labor and Regional Environmental Protection Agency. The first deputy mayor of Krakow, Tadeusz Tzmiel, hailed the project a success in terms of adherence to the strict standards.

“I am deeply impressed by POSCO E&C’s technology and its ability to implement such strict management of the site. Also, I really appreciate the cutting-edge facility that will be responsible for protecting our environment,” Tzmiel said.

Completion of the facility delivers benefit on two levels; allowing Krakow to meet the stringent EU standards imposed around acceptable levels of landfill and enabling Green Energy Certification from the Polish government for the power generated by the plant.