By: Jakub Malý
June 29, 2026 5 min read
In recent years, the Czech debate on waste incinerators has shifted from a purely waste-management perspective to one of energy and systemic importance. Waste-to-Energy (WtE) facilities—referred to in Czech as ZEVO—are no longer viewed merely as an "end-of-pipe" solution for municipal solid waste, but also as a source of heat for district heating systems, a replacement for coal-fired sources, and a potential element for strengthening local energy resilience. The new Waste Management Plan of the Czech Republic for 2025–2035, approved by the government on July 23, 2025, is based on the waste hierarchy: waste prevention, maximum recycling and recovery, and only subsequently energy recovery or disposal.
Modern WtE facilities can no longer be seen solely as sources of energy and heat. A significant part of their contribution is the material recovery of incineration residues. "From slag, which makes up approximately one-quarter of the input waste weight, we can recover both ferrous and non-ferrous metals and return them to the cycle as secondary raw materials," emphasizes Petr Branda, a Grant Thornton manager and waste management expert.
Currently, four large WtE plants for municipal waste are operational in the Czech Republic: Prague-Malešice, SAKO Brno, Termizo Liberec, and Chotíkov near Pilsen. According to available data, a record amount of municipal solid waste—830,000 tonnes—was energy-recovered in 2024. These facilities generated 261 GWh of electricity and supplied 2.8 PJ of heat. Malešice became the largest source; its waste utilization capacity was increased to a permitted ceiling of 480,000 tonnes per year (from an original 330,000 tonnes), although actual utilization may be lower. Brno has a capacity of 248,000 tonnes, Liberec 96,000 tonnes, and Chotíkov 120,000 tonnes per year.
The construction of new capacities is shifting from the planning phase to implementation. The most visible project is the EVO Komořany facility near Most, construction of which began in August 2024 and which is intended to energy-recover up to 150,000 tonnes of municipal waste annually. In Mělník, ČEZ has obtained a building permit for a WtE plant with a thermal input of approximately 110 MWt and a capacity of roughly 320,000 tonnes of waste per year; trial operations are expected at the turn of 2027 and 2028. Other projects are being prepared or discussed in Planá nad Lužnicí, Písek, Vráto near České Budějovice, Opatovice, and Brno, where a third boiler is being considered, which would increase the capacity of SAKO Brno to up to 370,000 tonnes per year.
The environmental organization Arnika points out that the investment costs for Czech WtE plants are among the highest internationally: according to its analysis, one installed tonne of annual capacity costs approximately EUR 1,000, while in advanced Western countries, the range is typically cited as EUR 600 to 1,000. For a facility with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, this would mean an investment of approximately CZK 2.5 billion. Arnika also states that incinerating one tonne of municipal waste costs roughly CZK 800 to 1,500 and that many projects are dependent on subsidies from the Modernization Fund.
A key risk, however, lies in the quality and quantity of the input waste. The Czech Waste Management Association (ČAOH) warns that to meet recycling targets, it will be necessary to sort and process approximately 85% of municipal waste. More intensive sorting simultaneously changes the composition of mixed municipal waste: the proportion of recyclable and combustible components is decreasing, and in some systems with advanced collection methods, the calorific value of residual waste can decrease significantly. This is a fundamental problem for large-capacity WtE plants, which require a stable flow of waste with adequate calorific value and quantity.
This is precisely why the importance of Solid Alternative Fuels (SAF/TAP) is growing. These are produced primarily from non-recyclable rejects from sorting lines and can be used in cement plants, lime kilns, or heating plants. According to ČAOH, the use of SAF in the heating industry can be more economically rational than building a standalone large WtE plant—investment costs are lower, operations are more flexible, and heating plants can combine SAF with other fuels. However, a regulatory constraint remains a problem: according to the relevant regulation, SAF can only be burned in sources above 20 MW, which complicates usage for smaller municipal heating plants.
In addition to municipal waste, a second area—perhaps even more urgent for industry—is often overlooked: the incineration of hazardous waste. ČAOH states that there are 21 hazardous waste incinerators operating in the Czech Republic with a total capacity of around 104,000 tonnes per year. According to the new Waste Management Plan, there is a shortfall of approximately 45,000 tonnes of capacity for incinerable hazardous waste. For this reason, a project for the construction of a hazardous waste incinerator near Litvínov with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year is currently being assessed.
This text was originally published on oenergetice.cz.
This text was translated by AI.
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