“We have been conducting this investigation for seven years. During this period, the population’s support for energy production from municipal waste is steadily increasing. It is particularly pronounced in the country’s capital, where 46 percent people view the use of waste as fuel for energy production very positively, and another 44 percent – most likely positively.
This attitude is maintained by the vast majority of the population when it comes to specific energy facilities, i.e. the Vilnius cogeneration power plant – it is positively evaluated by approximately 8 out of 10 Vilnius residents,” says Mantas Burokas, head of the Vilnius cogeneration power plant.
At that time, 33 percent in Kaunas tend to evaluate energy production from municipal waste unsuitable for processing very positively, 55 percent more positively. population. During the entire research period, the approval of Kaunas residents for this method of energy production also strengthened.
In addition, every third respondent who took part in the survey is of the opinion that the use of municipal and non-hazardous industrial waste for the production of heat and electricity promotes the use of renewable energy resources in the city of Kaunas.
Reducing the amount of waste is considered an advantage
According to the study, even 79 percent of the surveyed residents of the capital and 71 percent. residents of Kaunas consider the reduction of the amount of waste in regional landfills to be the main advantage of using waste in power plants. Almost half of the respondents believe that such waste utilization would contribute to the reduction of excess waste in Kaunas and Vilnius.
According to Ramūnas Paškauskas, the manager of the Kaunas cogeneration power plant, up to 255,000 cubic meters of electricity are used in the power plant per year. tons of municipal waste that does not end up in regional landfills.
Personal archive photo/Ramūnas Paškauskas
“The more we use municipal and non-hazardous industrial waste that remains following sorting and is unsuitable for processing, the less it ends up in regional landfills. In this way, we use local resources with energy value, contribute to saving primary energy sources, reducing CO2 emissions and create additional useful products: heat and electricity. This means that heat is produced for the residents of Kaunas at competitive and one of the lowest prices in the country”, says R. Paškauskas.
Although residents express a positive attitude towards converting waste into energy production, 5 out of 10 respondents see potential risks due to air pollution and negative impact on the environment. This concern of the residents is solved with the most modern technologies, which are applied in both Vilnius and Kaunas cogeneration power plants.
One of the innovative solutions is smoke cleaning systems, which are responsible for neutralizing and storing harmful substances in a closed container. Later, these materials are transferred to a company that has a permit for the final treatment of such waste abroad.
Company photo/Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant (VKJ)
Another technological solution is a permanent emission control system, which allows measurement of emissions and monitoring of their indicators in stacks located in power plants. All this allows the cogeneration power plants of Vilnius and Kaunas to ensure the safe conversion of waste into energy, without exceeding the limits of permissible emissions.
About the research
A quota survey of the country’s population was commissioned by Vilnius and Kaunas cogeneration power plants in 2024. February-March conducted by the research company “Spinter research”. During it, more than 2 thousand people were interviewed. of residents in Vilnius and Kaunas.
The next survey of the residents of Kaunas and Vilnius of this kind is planned for 2025. at the beginning
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2024-04-08 23:56:36