Title: Burning Plastic: Incineration Causes Air Pollution, Dioxin Emissions, Cost Overruns. - Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
Headings: Burning Plastic: Incineration Causes Air Pollution, Dioxin Emissions, Cost Overruns.
Burning Plastic: Incineration Causes Air Pollution, Dioxin Emissions, Cost Overruns.
Plastic Pollution Solutions:
Zero Waste + Redesign

Content: it releases climate pollution. This in turn leads to rising sea levels, increased ocean and air toxicity, and destruction of coral reefs and other marine life. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, burning plastics is notably the worst possible end-of-life management approach for plastics from a climate perspective. Gasification, pyrolysis, and plasma incinerators are even less efficient at generating electricity than mass burn incinerators, and often supplement waste with coal and other fossil fuels in order to produce energy. Climate change is a major threat to our oceans and marine health. Violate the principles of environmental justice. Incinerators cause environmental injustices in the communities where they are built, which carry the disproportionate burden of the air pollution and toxic ash. These places — often in the global south or communities of color in the global north — are also disproportionately impacted by the climate change that incinerators contribute to. People around the world are developing real solutions to our waste and climate crisis, based on the principles of zero waste and environmental justice. For more information, see our blog on the power of community-based solutions to plastic in the global south.