The aim of this mini review is to outline the currently existing methods of energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW), including incineration, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas recovery and utilization, providing tentative suggestions for further research. Through a comparative analysis of these technologies, the paper evaluates their feasibility in the context of MSW management and presents current research related to these technolo. The aim of this mini review is to outline the currently existing methods of energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW), including incineration, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas recovery and utilization, providing tentative suggestions for further research. Through a comparative analysis of these technologies, the paper evaluates their feasibility in the context of MSW management and presents current research related to these technologies. Incineration and landfill gas capture and utilization emerge as the most prominent options for energy recovery from municipal solid waste. Incineration effectively reduces waste volume, sanitize the waste, and generates electricity and heat, while landfill gas capture uses methane emissions from the decomposition of landfilled waste to generate electricity and reduce environmental impact. Pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion, on the other hand, have limited use for obtaining energy from MSW due to their complex processes and challenges associated with heterogeneous MSW composition and there are problems that needs to be addressed before their successful application at an industrial scale. In addition, the paper analyses the thermal treatment of waste in the context of the waste management hierarchy. This review underscores the importance of matching technology choices to waste characteristics and highlights the importance of tailored approaches in waste management in general and Waste-to-Energy projects in particular.Municipal solid wasteEnergy recoveryCombustionPyrolysisAnaerobic digestionLandfill gas captureSustainabilityWaste managementAlthough in use for several decades, thermal treatment of waste with or without energy recovery, remains a highly controversial issue. Old waste incinerators had little to no emission controls and were thus significantly contributing to air pollution causing adverse health effects. Modern Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants, on the other hand, are equ. The concept of waste management hierarchy has been on the global agenda for almost 40 years but has gained traction only in the last decade. Although widely proclaimed as a sound and logical framework for managing waste, the concept has also been criticized to create more problems than it solves [6,7]. According to Van Ewijk and Stegemann, the concept was introduced by the private company 3M, whereas in Europe it has been advocated for in 1979 by Ad Lansik, a Dutch politician. The concept requires waste to be managed according to priorities with the main priority being reduction in the production of waste. If the production of waste cannot be reduced it should be reused, or alternatively recycled. If reuse and recycling are not feasible, waste should be treated (biologically or thermally) with disposal being the last option. Although the concept makes sense in theory, it has proven difficult to put into practice. We live in a consumeristic society and reducing the amount waste that is produced is becoming an elusive target. This fact is strongly corroborated by findings that waste quantities are increasing globally every year with a projected 6,1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste expected to be generated by 2025. Regarding reuse and recycling we are witnessing the rise of extremely sophisticated systems for material recycling ; however, the recycled materials are still not of comparable quality to virgin materials and separately collecting the waste, treating it in a material recovery facility and se. A Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant is an incineration facility where waste is treated with the aim of reducing its mass, destroy toxic substances and obtain electricity and heat to be used for residential and/or industrial purposes. Compared to old incinerators, modern WtE facilities have revolutionized waste management by combining incineration and energy recovery. These innovative systems use several components, including a waste storage and sorting pit, a charging crane, a special combustion chamber with heat-resistant refractory bricks, a heat recovery network with steam generation tubes, an efficient ash handling system, and sophisticated air pollution controls. The combustion chamber, often characterized by a movable grate, is the heart of the process where the waste is burned and ultimately generates valuable steam in a boiler. The design and operation of such advanced plants provide a sustainable solution for waste treatment while at the same time harnessing valuable energy in the form of electricity and heat.The waste can be burned directly (the so-called “mass burn” approach) with no pre-processing of waste prior to it being fed into the combustion unit. On the other hand, the waste can be pre-processed to produce refuse derived fuel (RDF) where the non-combustible part of the waste is removed. This usually results in the processed waste having a higher heating value and better comb.