Co-incinerating waste with coal can reduce the fuel costs for the operator compared to lone coal combustion. Also, their substitution can reduce the total quantity of fossil fuels required to meet energy demand. As waste combustion has been found to be 80% carbon cycle amicable, this will thereby increase the energy produced per unit of non-short cycle carbon emitted to the atmosphere.

In previous years, the product from the Byker Refuse Derived Fuel plant (see previous section) has been substituted for coal in a number of council owned boilers, and has resulted in a saving of over 6,000 tonnes of coal per year.

The EU Environment Directorate is about to start looking at the co-incineration of industrial waste and coal.