A technology already widely used in Connecticut trash disposal is expected to grow exponentially to $13.6 billion in revenue worldwide by 2016, according to a report from clean technology marketing firm Pike Research.
Trash-to-energy systems that burn trash to produce electricity will become increasingly in demand as the growing world population with higher standards of living create unprecedented amounts of trash headed mostly toward landfills.
Trash-to-energy is widely used in European countries to reduce waste going to landfills, but the technology is barely used throughout the United States. Connecticut is the exception, as the state offers six trash-to-energy plants and puts only 11 percent of its waste into landfills.
Pike says the immediate demand for trash-to-energy facilities will call on technology that burns the waste directly. However, emerging onto the market will be new technology that gasifies the waste, such as technology owned and marketed by West Hartford resident John O’Hurley, whose company is trying to install a plant in West Hartford.
