The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has voiced objections to the treatment of waste-to-energy (WTE) in proposed federal legislation that would create a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases. Specifically, SWANA wants the legislation amended so that biogenic emissions from WTE plans are not regulated and WTE is included in the renewable energy portfolio standard.

The association’s concerns are outlined in a letter that SWANA Executive Director and CEO John Skinner sent to U.S. Rep Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the ranking member of the committee. “The direct emissions from [WTE] facilities are more than offset by the overall greenhouse gas reductions that [WTE] provides,” Skinner says in the letter.

However, SWANA does support the proposed legislation’s exclusion of landfills from emission regulations and inclusion of landfill gas in the renewable energy portfolio standard.

For more on the proposed legislation, click here.