The Global Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WtERT®) proudly participated in the 11th Waste-to-Energy Technology and Equipment Conference and the 1st ISWA Beacon Conference on Waste to Energy, held in Xi’an, China from July 1–4, 2025. The event was hosted in China for the first time and co-organized by ISWA and CAUES, brought together over 600 global experts and marked a turning point for the global Waste-to-Energy (WtE) community.

Led by WtERT President Prof. Qunxing Huang, and Vice Presidents Prof. Xiaodong Li and Dr. Reda Kabbaj, the WtERT delegation witnessed and contributed to China’s showcase of what a fully scaled, sustainable WtE model looks like.

With over 1,135 incineration plants, handling 1.1 million tons of waste daily and producing 27,000 MW of clean energy, China now represents more than half of the world’s total WtE capacity. These numbers send a clear signal: landfills are obsolete. Methane reduction is real. The climate benefits are measurable.

And the economics? WtE is 100% cost-effective compared to landfills when considering long-term environmental and health damage caused by methane and leachate.

Prof. Huang introduced breakthrough research on AI-powered smart WtE systems, showcasing how intelligent combustion and system optimization can drastically improve efficiency and environmental performance. Prof. Xiaodong Li shared deep insights into carbon emission monitoring and carbon footprint analysis of modern incineration plants, reinforcing the role of transparency and data in climate action. Dr. Reda Kabbaj presented WtERT’s vision for strategic collaboration between academia, R&D, and government to accelerate Waste-to-Energy deployment in Africa, turning landfilling into a practice of the past.

Their contributions reflect WtERT’s mission to bridge science, policy, and industry in support of a global transition away from uncontrolled landfilling, and toward clean, measurable, and scalable Waste-to-Energy solutions.