Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies seem to be an option to tackle the growing waste management
problems in developing Asia. This paper presents a quantitative assessment of the environmental and
economic attributes of two major WtE technologies: landfill gas to energy (LFG-to-energy) and incineration
in Thai cities. Net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, net fossil resource consumption and net lifecycle
cost (LCC) were used as the basic indicators for measuring performance of these two technologies
from a life cycle perspective. The assessment found that at the current efficiency level, both the LFG-toenergy
project and the incineration facility contribute to GHG mitigation and fossil resource savings as
compared to the Business as Usual (BAU) practice. However, the financial returns from these operations
are very low and insufficient to compensate the costs. The paper argues that substantial improvements of
WtE plants can be made by adopting proper management practices, enhancing the efficiencies of energy
production. Such upgrading would further reduce GHG emissions, increase fossil resource savings and
strengthen the financial performance to the benefit of local governments. The authors recognize the
potential of incorporating other treatment options along with WtE technologies, for moving towards
more sustainable waste management approaches like integrated waste management systems.