A two-in-one solution to limit landfill and generate greener energy
Andrew Belt, PATRIZIA Corporate Communications thought leadership lead, assesses the growing problem of landfill, framed against the need for energy transition solutions, and shares how PATRIZIA’s activities are helping to limit landfill and provide greener energy in one infrastructure workstream.
According to the proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. For as long as there has been waste, there has always been a need to dispose of it in a socially acceptable way.
Some of the earliest examples of systems devised to treat waste are attributed to modern-day Syria and the Ancient Roman Empire.
Where populations were not so large, such sophisticated systems were not necessary. As an example of a moment in history when the need was great, industrial Britain fits the bill; perhaps more specifically, London. Many depictions of the dirty streets of London during this time have made their way into cultural endeavours.
Lacking waste clearance regulations and becoming home to a growing urban population, London saw sanitation levels plummet while ‘filth’ prospered, giving rise to a plethora of diseases. Eventually, centralised sanitation regulation was introduced and the Public Health Act 1875 brought in the concept of bins for weekly waste removal from households.
PATRIZIA's energy-from-waste platform
PATRIZIA is playing its part in this market through the acquisition of stakes in three energy-from-waste companies. There is SAREN Energy in Norway (a platform of three energy-from-waste facilities and a district heating network serving communities in the north and south of the country), Renergia in Italy (a vertically integrated bio-LNG producer producing bio-LNG from biomethane derived from bio-waste) and Greenthesis, also based in Italy (the country’s leading independent waste treatment and recovery company).
The three comprise PATRIZIA’s pan-European energy-from-waste portfolio, with SAREN the first PATRIZIA invested into.
Where there is a need, there is a way, and recovering waste to prevent it becoming landfill, while also using it to fuel much-needed cleaner energy, provides a neat solution to two of our most pressing issues in modern society.
Spotlight: Greenthesis
PATRIZIA, through its European Infrastructure strategy, took a co-controlling stake in Italian circular economy business Greenthesis S.p.A via a take-private process in October 2024.
Through its various business lines and extensive network across Italy, Greenthesis treats waste across the entire value chain. It has expertise in both urban and special waste sectors, with a key focus on the most significant value-add activities in the waste-based circular economy, such as treatment and disposal.
Greenthesis owns and operates 20 industrial sites predominantly across northern and central Italy which are dedicated to waste treatment, recovery, energy-from-waste, environmental remediation and landfill management activities.
Thanks to its assets, the Greenthesis group is able to process more than 1 million tonnes of industrial and urban waste annually, having generated revenues of more than EUR 170 million in 2023.
Founded over 30 years ago, Greenthesis has grown both organically as well as through a series of acquisitions and partnerships, and today has more than 500 employees. The company benefits from an experienced senior leadership team that includes members of the founding Grossi family.