The Waste-to-Energy industry remains robust in 2025. Despite continuing low waste volumes due to the weak economy in Europe, plant operators maintain solid performance. The annual industry barometer from ecoprog, with support from CEWEP, documents the current situation and expectations for the industry.

The thermal waste treatment industry will remain robust overall in 2025 despite a continuing challenging economic environment. Among operators of thermal waste treatment plants, the business climate and business expectations were even higher than the already high figures of the previous year, at 92.5 and 87.6 points, respectively. Only the current business situation was assessed slightly worse at 97.6 points (2024: 102.0).

ecoprog interprets the operators' positive market assessment as an indication that capacities for treating non-recyclable waste in Europe remain limited. One of the main reasons for this is the increasingly stringent restrictions and burdens on waste disposal in many European countries. Currently, there are also bottlenecks in existing capacities in many markets. In countries such as Germany and France, plant availability has declined due to ageing plant infrastructure. The cement industry, which has been affected by the economic crisis, is also incinerating less waste.

Industrial companies in the sector are also performing well: the business climate rose slightly to 98.3 points (2024: 97.5). The index for the current business situation improved slightly to 113.8 points, while business expectations declined marginally to 84.9 points. 94% of the plant manufacturers and suppliers surveyed rate their current situation as good or satisfactory (2024: 90%). 61% consider their order backlog to be sufficient, 24% as comparatively high. Demand remained unchanged for half of the companies, with 28% reporting an improvement.

This year's industry barometer also examined the topics of PFAS and hazardous waste. Almost half of the operators of thermal waste treatment plants expect more PFAS-contaminated waste to be treated thermally in the future. 38% see the lack of standardised measurement methods as a challenge, and a quarter expect mandatory measurements in air, water and residues. With regard to hazardous waste, 23% of operators of thermal waste treatment plants see a shortage in their region. The issue is also gaining importance among industrial companies in the sector. 30% are already active in this area, and another 15% are considering entering the market.

The Industry Barometer Waste-to-Energy has been conducted annually since 2012 by the Cologne-based consulting firm ecoprog. The European umbrella organisation of thermal waste treatment plant operators, CEWEP (Confederation of European Waste-to-Energy Plants), supports the survey. For each valid participation, ecoprog donates €10 to SOS Children's Villages. The Industry Barometer Waste-to-Energy 2025 is available as a free download on the CEWEP website in English and German.