It has been demonstrated that the proposed Waste to Energy Project is not sustainable on technical, economic and financial grounds when compared to solid waste recycle projects, this is conclusion is supported by the following observations.

9.1 Solid Waste Projects

Currently there are three large scale projects known that require MSW and have been scrutinised by the Board of Investments (BOI). The Waste Paper Recycling Plant (40,000tonnes/year) and the Compost Plant (capacity 100, 000tonnes/year) are waste recycling projects that are in conformity with sustainable forms of waste
management. The proposed Waste to Energy Plant (300,000tonnes/year) is a waste disposal project that requires high and sophisticated technology.

9.2 Availability of Solid Wastes and the Impact
of the Proposed WTE Plant

The waste generation projections made in several studies have shown that for 2009 and onwards, there is insufficient quantity of solid wastes per day for the safe and continuous operation of the composting, waste paper recycling and the proposed WTE plant. There will be a competition between the waste paper recycling project and the proposed WTE Plant as waste paper has a high net calorific value as compared to MSW only.

As MSW cannot be stocked, it is very likely that circumstances will arise that waste will not be available for the proposed WTE Plant. Given the obligations of GoM to provide MSW, the revenue from the tipping fees is likely not going to be affected by a lack of MSW. However GoM will have to compensate the proposed WTE Plant for lack of revenues from sale of electricity and for any liability on account of reduced/no electricity generation;

Because of the large scale of operation associated with the proposed WTE Plant, then the latter will effectively lock in supplies that could otherwise go for recycling;
There will be no incentive to promote waste reduction, re-use and recycling in contradiction to the present policy of GoM towards the 3Rs. It must be noted that most industrialised countries are focussing more on the 3Rs as waste disposal through incineration or landfill has not resolved the waste management problems but in effect has contributed to more problems such as environmental, social and
economic;

There will be no business opportunity for the development of further recycling as there will be virtually no waste left to sustain such activities, in effect given the large scale demand of MSW for the WTE plant (300,000tonnesMSW/year), incineration will ‘kill’ jobs and small business opportunities in resource recovery in Mauritius;

The impacts of incineration as a “technology lock in” upon the waste reduction, reuse and recycle strategies are likely to be profound. The burning of compostable waste, recyclable paper and cardboard, recyclable plastics will seriously prejudice the recycling industries that are developing in the country.

9.3 Waste Characteristics and Impacts
on the Proposed WTE Plant

There is a general consensus from the various studies carried out to date that the MSW characteristics in Mauritius is predominantly of high moisture and high organic/vegetable faction. These characteristics are favourable for composting rather than incineration.

The WTE Plant is inappropriate to the high organic and moisture contents of the Municipal Solid Waste in Mauritius and hence the energy generated using this technology is neither economically nor environmentally sustainable. Moreover such plant is extremely expensive to operate.

In addition the requirement for MSW waste to be provided within a relatively narrow
range of calorific value means the removal of particular waste streams for recycling
could cause the remaining waste to fall outside the acceptable range. For example the removal of paper and plastics for recycling would increase the relative proportion of organic/putrescible wastes in the residue and lower the calorific value. On the other hand, removal of organic/putrescible wastes for composting would help to keep the MSW in the acceptable range but reduce the overall quantity of waste available for processing.

Use of Auxiliary Fuels: With the low Net Calorific Value, the use of auxiliary fuel such as heavy fuel oil will be necessary to sustain energy production to meet contractual obligations that can be expected under a Power Purchase Agreement.

Waste Segregation: At present no waste segregation or waste sorting is carried out in Mauritius. Hence the probability of hazardous wastes finding their way into MSW is very high as solid waste from Industrial and commercial zones are mixed with domestic waste at the transfer stations. Hazardous wastes containing precursors of dioxins and furans, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), Poly aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and others will increase the formation of the toxic compounds in the flue gases as well as in ash residues and the risks of higher concentrations that would normally exist in sorted domestic solid wastes. Thus it can be concluded that without a sorting process upstream of the incineration process, incineration of MSW increases the risks of formation of hazardous and highly toxic by products (PCB, PAH, Dioxins and Furans, Heavy metals, etc.) with concomitant increase of risks to the human health, Agriculture, Animal husbandry and to the economic development at large.

9.4 Financial and Economic Impacts
of the Solid Waste Projects

A financial and economic assessment of the solid waste projects, i.e., Waste Paper Recycling, Composting and the Proposed WTE Plant show that the latter by far has the highest negative financial and economic impacts.

• It is clear that both the waste paper recycling and the composting projects have no direct impact on public finance while eliminating 100,000tonnes of MSW/year net.

• In contrast the proposed WTE Plant has a direct impact on Public Finance at a cost of MRs361-380M subject to currency changes with respect to US Dollar for the tipping fees. In effect the proposed WTE Plant will increase by more than 100percent the recurrent budget of the Ministry of Local Government for Solid Waste Management.

• Furthermore as the sale price of electricity by the proposed WTE Plant to CEB is not known, there is a risk of further costs if the electricity price is higher than the price of electricity that the CEB buys from the Independent Power Producers (IPP) as intimated in the local press. Only when this detail is known that the full cost to public finance can be ascertained.

Furthermore the environmental, economic and social risks are considered very high for the proposed WTE Plant and the human costs of damaged health and the environment due to the impacts of a MSW WTE Plant are impossible to measure.

• Creation of Employment
The Composting and Waste Paper Recycling Projects will treat 140,000tonnes MSW/year and will employ directly 290 persons whereas the proposed WTE Plant treating 300,000tonnesMSW/year will only employ 75 persons. It is concluded that at total plant capacity of half of the proposed WTE project, the direct employment opportunities with the solid waste recycling projects are nearly four (4) times that for the proposed WTE Plant.

In addition it is expected that Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) will provide direct services such as the collection and supply of waste paper to the waste paper recycling plant and scrap metal recovery from the composting plant for example.

All these SME will provide additional employment opportunities. In the case of the proposed WTE project, no such direct services can be identified as even the scrap metal from the bottom ash cannot be recovered as they are in the form of alloys and hence cannot be reused. Moreover the bottom ash is probably highly contaminated and hence recovery of metals is more problematic.

Hence it is concluded that the proposed WTE Plant does not generate as many employment opportunities as waste reuse, recycling and composting schemes do. Employment and business opportunities in resource recovery can occur without a WTE Plant.

9.5 The non-sustainability of the proposed
Waste to Energy Plant

When the adverse effects on the environment, the high risks associated with a MSW with high organic and moisture contents and low Net Caloric Value and the impacts on the recycling industries are all taken into consideration then the rationale of any waste management strategy that is based upon incineration as a central technology for waste treatment and disposal is un sustainable.