Don’t Incinerate – Innovate!

Thirty-eight years ago, the United Church of Christ’s Commission for Racial Justice released a report that recognized the racial inequality of waste sites in this country and urged government leaders to address this injustice. As people of faith, we are called to address the moral issues associated with what to do with our waste. It is an important part of how we love our neighbors and all of God’s creation.

In 2023, the incinerator that was used to burn about 15% of Miami-Dade County’s garbage, actually burned down.  At first, there was a push to replace the 40-year-old incinerator with a more modern version. However, the $1.5 billion price tag and eight year schedule caused local leaders to consider other options. It turns out that burning trash is an idea that is no longer considered a worthwhile solution for our waste stream, which is why no new ones have been built since 1997.

Burning Waste Produces Toxic Emissions

Even the most advanced technologies cannot avoid the release of vast amounts of pollutants that contaminate air, soil and water, and end up entering the food chain. Incinerators can be major emitters of carcinogenic pollutants as well tiny particles of dust that can lead to decreased lung function, irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, and premature death. There is also no known system of carbon capture for the vast amounts of CO2 released.

Waste Incinerators Are a Financial Burden

Although incinerators can be used to create energy, trash burning is the most expensive method to generate energy and to handle waste, while also creating a significant economic burden for host cities. (The estimated cost for a replacement incinerator is $1.6 billion). There are many cases of municipalities that have ended up in debt because of long-term incinerator contracts. 

Toxic Ash Is NOT Zero Waste

Burning waste is incompatible with a closed-loop circular economy model as incinerators destroy valuable materials in a polluting manner. By reducing the volume but increasing the toxicity of waste, incineration merely replaces one waste stream with another. Incinerators end up increasing the need for virgin materials by destroying reusable/recyclable/compostable material.

Current methods of dealing with our discards recognize the inherent value in much of the waste stream, especially if it is properly sorted. Landfills are the ‘last resort’ for our garbage, when implementing Zero Waste strategies.

There are US cities that are well on their way to a zero waste solution without burning trash, such as San Francisco or Austin, and all of our communities should explore the available options. Setting up programs for composting food from schools, restaurants, hotels and grocery stores will result in valuable mulch, as would chipping yard waste. Recycling of construction debris, Pay As You Throw programs, and source reduction are all ways to reduce our waste stream quickly and efficiently. To be sure, education is an important component so that residents realize that we are all part of the solution. No one wants a landfill or an incinerator in their backyard, so let’s move towards more earth friendly ways of dealing with our discards.