Waste-to-Energy: A Path to Ukraine’s Energy Independence

In today’s world, energy is more than just a convenience — it is a cornerstone of security, economic growth, and political stability. For Ukraine, achieving energy independence has become a pressing priority. In this context, one powerful yet underutilized resource is stepping into the spotlight: waste recycling.

Why Is This Urgent Now? Traditional energy sources — gas, oil, coal — are finite, expensive, and often imported. Their use contributes to environmental pollution and leaves countries like Ukraine vulnerable to geopolitical pressures. As a country with a highly energy-intensive economy, Ukraine is acutely aware of this dependence. But amid complex challenges lies a real opportunity for change: alternative energy — particularly energy derived from waste.

Waste Is Not Trash — It’s a Resource Every day, Ukraine produces thousands of tons of municipal, agricultural, industrial, and construction waste. Much of it ends up in landfills or is incinerated without proper controls, harming the environment. Yet, this waste holds immense potential as secondary raw material — and as a source of energy.

Modern technologies allow us to:

• produce biogas from organic waste (food scraps, manure, crop residues);

• incinerate waste in specialized facilities to generate heat and electricity;

• convert agricultural biomass (like straw, grass, husks) into biofuels;

• use wood processing waste for heating.

Ukraine’s Potential Is EnormousExperts estimate that Ukraine harvests around 50 million tons of grain annually — a portion of which has high energy potential. This resource could yield up to 18 million tons of oil equivalent — roughly 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas that would no longer need to be imported.

Bioenergy: A Strategic PriorityAmong Ukraine’s planned renewable energy sources (RES) by 2025, bioenergy is expected to account for over 57% — the largest share. And for good reason: unlike solar or wind energy, biomass is available in almost every region, can be stored, and used when needed — offering both flexibility and resilience.

The Benefits Go Beyond EnergyWaste-to-energy solutions not only reduce reliance on energy imports, they also:

• decrease the volume of waste sent to landfills;

• improve environmental conditions;

• create new jobs, particularly in rural areas;

• empower local communities by enabling energy production on-site.

What’s Been Done — and What’s Next?Before the war, Ukraine had already set ambitious goals:

• 25% renewables in the national energy balance by 2035;

• 70% of electricity from renewables by 2050.

Unfortunately, the full-scale invasion caused severe damage — up to 90% of wind and around 50% of solar capacity was taken offline. However, bioenergy remains relatively stable and does not depend on weather conditions or expensive imported equipment.

Researchers are now developing tools to assess the eco-economic efficiency of waste processing at the level of individual farms and enterprises — helping decision-makers clearly see both the environmental and financial benefits.

In ConclusionUkraine’s energy independence is entirely achievable — if we stop seeing waste as a problem and start recognizing it as an opportunity. Recycling waste and biomass is not only a path to energy security, but also to sustainable development, a cleaner environment, and new economic growth.

Ukraine has everything it takes to become a leader in this field. All it takes now is political will, business support, and active citizen participation. Together, we can turn every kilogram of waste into a step toward our shared sustainable energy future.