South America, with its agrarian societies, surprisingly consumes very few wastes for the production of steam or electricity. Brazil is the largest country in South America and is also the largest energy consumer, consuming about 8.5 quads of energy each year as compared to 6.1 quads for Mexico, 12.5 quads for Canada, and 97.0 quads for the United States. Due to the large size of Brazil's agricultural sector, biomass is seen as the best future alternative energy source. Currently, Brazil produces about 4,000 gigawatt (1 × 109) hours annually (i.e., 0.1 quads equivalent) in the sugar industry to run its own refineries and distilleries. At the same time, Brazil produces up to 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol (i.e., 0.5 quads equivalent) for automobiles each year, although it is manufactured from sugar and not waste materials. No other South American countries produce significant quantities of energy from waste; however, Argentina's biomass energy use, like Brazil's, is expected to grow in the coming years.

In the United States, corn is the primary feedstock along with barley and wheat that is currently being used to produce ethanol, although neither corn or grains are considered wastes. Considerable ongoing research is exploring the use of true biomass wastes such as corn stover or wood chips and sawdust for treatment waste into wood pellets. One project at the U.S. Department of Energy involves the cofiring of sawdust and tires with coal in utility boilers.

Does anyone know the exact figures for USA?