Waste Incineration: A Dying Technology - GAIA

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Executive Summary Incinerators are an unsustainable and obsolete method for dealing with waste. As global opposition to incineration continues to grow, innovative philosophies and practices for sustainable management of discards are being developed and adopted around the world. Section 1: The Problems of Incineration Section 1 deals with the problems of waste incineration: pollutant releases, both to air and other media; economic costs and employment costs; energy loss; unsustainability; and incompatibility with other waste management systems. It also deals with problems specific to Southern countries. Dioxins are the most notorious pollutant associated with incinerators. They cause a wide range of health problems, including cancer, immune system damage, reproductive and developmental problems. Dioxins biomagnify, meaning that they are passed up the food chain from prey to predator, concentrating in meat and dairy products, and, ultimately, in humans. Dioxins are of particular concern because they are ubiquitous in the environment (and in humans) at levels that have been shown to cause health problems, implying that entire populations are now suffering their ill effects. Worldwide, incinerators are the primary source of dioxins. Incinerators are also a major source of mercury pollution. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin, impairing motor, sensory and cognitive functions, and mercury contamination is widespread. Incinerators are also an significant source of other heavy metal pollutants such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium. Other pollutants of concern from incinerators include other (non-dioxin) halogenated hydrocarbons; acid gases that are precursors of acid rain; particulates, which impair lung function; and greenhouse gases. However, characterization of incinerator pollutant releases is still incomplete, and many unidentified compounds are present in air emissions and ashes. Incinerator operators often claim that air emissions are “under control,” but evidence indicates that this is not the case. First, for many pollutants, such as dioxins, any additional emissions are unacceptable. Second, emissions monitoring is uneven and deeply flawed, so even current emission levels are not truly known. Third, the data that do exist indicate that incinerators are incapable of meeting even the current regulatory standards. When air pollution control equipment does function, it removes pollutants from the air and concentrates them in the fly ash, creating a hazardous waste stream that needs further treatment. Thus, the problem of pollutant releases is not solved; the pollutants are simply moved from one medium (air) to another (solids or water). Incinerator ash is highly hazardous but is often poorly regulated. Even landfill disposal is not safe, as landfills leak; but in some places the ash is left exposed to the elements or even spread in residential or food-producing areas. Waste Incineration: A Dying Technology 1
Page 1 and 2: Waste Incineration: A Dying Technol
Page 3 and 4: “In this century of progress, wit
Page 5: Table of Contents Executive Summary
Page 9 and 10: Organics contaminate the recyclable
Page 11 and 12: In Japan, the most incinerator-inte
Page 13 and 14: Introduction Dealing with waste is
Page 15 and 16: Section 1: THE PROBLEMS OF INCINERA
Page 17 and 18: Health Effects of Dioxins The healt
Page 19 and 20: dioxin. In one rat study, a single
Page 21 and 22: “Dioxins have never killed anyone
Page 23 and 24: Other Toxic Metals Incinerators typ
Page 25 and 26: PROBLEMS OF CONTROLLING AIR EMISSIO
Page 27 and 28: “In monitoring for compliance or
Page 29 and 30: At the same time, high furnace temp
Page 31 and 32: Incinerator Ash Re-use: the Example
Page 33 and 34: The most technologically advanced i
Page 35 and 36: plant, pay for plant upgrades, pay
Page 37 and 38: perform an important service by ret
Page 39 and 40: In many cases, incineration also co
Page 41 and 42: The movement that sprang up to comb
Page 43 and 44: Lack of robustness of technology. I
Page 45 and 46: Section 2: ALTERNATIVES TO INCINERA
Page 47 and 48: wastes that result from production
Page 49 and 50: Waste of materials: Landfills remov
Page 51 and 52: The success of this system — for
Page 53 and 54: Waste Composition in Selected Count
Page 55 and 56: EPR programs are intended to elimin
Page 57 and 58:
Getting to Zero: Steps Towards a Ze
Page 59 and 60:
municipal waste, as long as it is k
Page 61 and 62:
Tackling the Medwaste Monster Altho
Page 63 and 64:
The four principles of Clean Produc
Page 65 and 66:
Waste Not a Drop When Namibian Brew
Page 67 and 68:
Effective hazardous waste treatment
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Non-combustion technologies are sta
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plants dried up, large engineering
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Davidson County, North Carolina is
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Waste Incineration: A Dying Technol
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in the closure of some existing pla
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een effective in preventing the con
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the marine environment are likely t
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The International Joint Commission
Page 85 and 86:
incinerators. As feasible alternati
Page 87 and 88:
For individuals and activists, ther
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geographic term. Cf. Southern. PBTs
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fluorenone dibenzothiophene pentach
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Massachusetts, 1991: state enacted
Page 95 and 96:
Dellinger, B., Taylor, P., Tiery, D
Page 97 and 98:
Huang, H., and Beukens, A., “On t
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Agency, 2000. Seifman, David, “Mi
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ENDNOTES 1. Composting, which recyc
Page 103 and 104:
132. ECOTEC, 2000. 133. Hogg, 2002.
Page 105 and 106:
Resource Organizations: Global Anti
Page 107:
Srishti / Toxics Link H-2 Jungpura
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