Title: Is burning trash a good way to dispose of it? Waste incineration in charts | PBS NewsHour
Headings: Is burning trash a good way to dispose of it? Waste incineration in charts
Is burning trash a good way to dispose of it? Waste incineration in charts
Environmental justice flashpoints
Aging facilities
Construction years for MSW incinerators
What incinerators burn
Materials in U.S. municipal solid waste
Waste management trends
Materials in U.S. municipal solid waste recycled and composted (percentage of each type)
Heavy polluters
Emission rates for “Dirtiest Dozen” municipal solid waste incinerators (pounds per ton of trash burned, 2014)

Content: There is also a growing movement for less-consumptive lifestyles that favors zero-waste goals. Materials in U.S. municipal solid waste recycled and composted (percentage of each type)
Wastes that are not recycled or composted typically are either burned or buried in landfills. Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND; Source: EPA
Heavy polluters
Incinerators release many air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, particulate matter, lead, mercury, dioxins and furans. These substances are known to have serious public health effects, from increased cancer risk to respiratory illness, cardiac disease and reproductive, developmental and neurological problems. According to recent figures from the waste industry, incinerator plants emit more sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide per unit of electricity generated than power plants burning natural gas. Research on direct health impacts of waste incineration in the United States is limited, but a handful of studies from Asia and Europe, where waste incinerators are prevalent, offer some insights. For example, a 2013 study in Italy analyzed the occurrence of miscarriages in women aged 15-49 years residing near seven incinerators in northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, and found that increased particulate emissions from the incinerators was associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.