Trash incinerators have been marketed to the public as the environmentally safe way to dispose of our trash instead of sending it to those horrible landfills. In some places the industry has done such a good job at convincing politicians of this, several have even included these incinerators creating electricity from garbage as part of their push to meet clean energy goals. The industry likes to call them “resource recovery units,” but they have other names, like “trash incinerator,” “garbage incinerator,” or “solid waste incinerator.” Regardless of what they’re called, these incinerators are all the same thing. There is nothing resource-recovering about these giant trash-burning monstrosities.
The trash incinerator industry likes to refer to themselves as “waste management and treatment companies.” They like the public to believe they are doing a great service for the environment and mankind. All trash incinerator companies take the waste produced by industry, commercial, and residential customers and burn it. That is the simplest way to describe what they all do. What else they all have in common is they emit toxic compounds like mercury, lead, and cadmium, to list just a few.
I admit that I am not a fan of the incinerator industry and most likely will never become one. Since the mid-1980s, I have been involved in one way or another with the incinerator issue, always on the side that incineration is not an answer. It just shifts the problem from one place to another, mostly into the air.
The belief or idea that anything is able to be incinerated and disappear makes absolutely no sense if looked at from a scientific view. Basic science teaches us that nothing is ever destroyed completely, only changed to another form. The definition of “incineration” from an environmental viewpoint is “to burn something and create different products more dangerous than the one originally put in.” The burning of trash in an incinerator simply changes the structure of much of the materials into other ones.
Trash incinerators have been around since the late 1800s. They started having widespread usage in the 1920s. It seemed to be a simple solution to get rid of trash. Many people had backyard incinerators, which were nothing more than drums with holes punched in them. I admit that I remember going to my grandfather’s house and sitting in the backyard with him while he threw everything from the household trash bins into his incinerator and burned it. My job was to clean out the ashes at the bottom after the fire was out and put them into the garden as fertilizer. If I only knew back then what we were doing.
The giant, specialized, modern-day trash incinerators still have some things in common with the backyard burn barrels. They may have fancy bells and whistles, but they still continuously emit toxic chemicals. The problem now is, due to their size, the amount of toxins and pollution they dump on the surrounding community is magnified thousands of times. Incinerators reduce the volume of what they burn, but at the same time, they multiply the toxicity by concentrating the materials that can’t be destroyed through incineration. The incinerators end up with large amounts of hazardous, highly toxic ash that needs to be specially handled and disposed of. Some of it is more dangerous than what was incinerated in the first place due to chemical changes during the incineration process.
The term “municipal solid waste” is the one frequently used for the trash or garbage that the trucks are picking up in town. Incinerators use natural gas or other fuel to burn the paper, food waste, plastics, metal, and whatever is in the trash stream. The EPA estimated plastic made up 16.4% of the materials incinerated in 2017. The largest problem with burning plastics is that, when it is burned, it creates new toxic compounds much deadlier than the waste itself.
When the trash is placed into the incinerator kiln and burned, the original volume of trash is reduced by about 90%. The other 10% is made up of heavy ash residue and incompletely burned items, as well as fly ash, which is the lighter ash that contains heavy metals and toxic chemicals, such as dioxins, furans, and PCBs. The fly ash also contains “products of incomplete combustion,” which are new chemicals formed by unburnt ones recombining in new, more dangerous combinations. Many of those go out the smokestack and into the air people breathe.
No matter how they’re marketed, incinerators are not green renewable energy. If the goal is to reduce waste, these materials, which otherwise would be recycled into new usable items using less energy than creating them again, are instead turned into waste and pollution. The companies that run incinerators also discourage recycling by the simple fact that the materials most easily recycled are their best fuel.
The appeal these incinerators make to the communities is typically to promise to share the wealth. The company speaks about all of the money that can be made in fees for the trash taken into the incinerator. They also will point at how much less will have to be landfilled and mention how all the energy from the burning of the trash is clean, renewable energy. What usually is failed to be discussed are more than a few critical factors.
One often overlooked fact is that there needs to be a minimum amount of trash for the incinerator to burn just to cover operating expenses. In the case that a city or county owns the incinerator, there is the additional expense of the bond and interest payments for the incinerator itself. So, if a certain amount of trash is needed just to break even and the more trash it burns the more revenue, trash reduction and recycling programs usually take a hit. After all, more trash is more money, so there’s a financial incentive not to reduce waste. In many cases incinerator operators still did not have enough trash to burn to pay their bills, so outside trash from other counties and states is being shipped in.
All trash is not equal either. Most incinerators use natural gas as the primary fuel for burning trash. The higher the temperature, the better the burn, and the less volume left at the end to dispose of. Everything generates heat when burned. How much is generated is said to be it’s BTU value. Wet trash, mostly made up of food waste, does not have any real burnable fuel in it, or, as experts would say, it has a low amount of BTU value.It needs additional BTU’s in the form of extra fuel to generate enough heat to burn.
The best trash is the stuff with high BTU value. Incinerator companies prefer trash that has a high percentage of plastics and paper, the very items that are the easiest to remove for recycling. Those materials allow the incinerator operators to use less natural gas and can burn more trash–less expenditure, more income. So, there’s also a financial incentive for them not to recycle anything.
There is a big problem with burning the items with the most BTU value for the operator: it creates the most harmful pollution for the air and people living nearby. One material with a high BTU value is some metals that when subjected to the high temperatures of the incinerator will melt and sometimes burn. Metals create a lot of heat when burned, as does PVC. However, metal is not destroyed by incineration; it goes up in smoke and is mostly released out the smokestack or remains in the incinerator ash. PVC, when burned, creates dioxins and furans. If chlorine is in a product that is incinerated, the chemical reaction also will create dioxin. Chlorine is used in manufacturing a lot of items, so it is fairly common to have this issue as well.
The biggest problem with trash incinerators is not what goes into the facility even though hazardous materials that should not be burned there are frequently found. The biggest issue is what comes out of the incinerator in the smokestack emissions. I can’t emphasize enough that the danger to the community from these emissions is so dangerous both from specific toxic chemicals in the air to tons of tiny particles too small for human lungs to screen out. They get into the bloodstream and attack the body from the inside. Emissions from incinerators typically contain heavy metals; lead and mercury are just two of the metals found in smokestack emissions. They also are two of the most harmful metals to be exposed to continuously.
The emissions also contain a plethora of other potentially harmful chemicals: sulfur dioxide sulfur, nitrogen oxides, dioxins, furans, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and more.
Some of the nastiest chemicals are formed when the incinerator does not burn material completely. These partially combusted materials recombine with others to form new, more dangerous compounds (like the previously mentioned dioxins), many of which scientists are unable to fully determine based on the lack of extensive monitoring and wide air sampling .
All incinerators pollute and release dangerous toxic compounds into the air, even new incinerators featuring the latest technology in pollution control devices. Regardless of how advanced pollution controls are, they fall short. Modern incinerators may be able to trap some of the pollutants, but dioxins, furans, and other hazardous emissions of small to ultra-fine size are not, allowing them to escape. The EPA neither regulates nor monitors particles of this size even though they are the most dangerous to the human body.
Some of the issues with trash incinerators need a closer examination.
Incinerators naturally create emissions as materials inside burn. Some of the most hazardous materials known to humanity, dioxins and furans, are created by the burning process itself when chlorinated wastes such as wood, plastics, and various types of paper are incinerated. When plastic waste is burned, especially PVC, dioxins are only some of the toxic chemicals created in the incinerator. New toxic compounds are created at all the stages of the incineration process. Toxic compounds are created in the initial combustion of the trash. Toxic compounds are created when chemicals not destroyed in the incinerator combine together in the smokestack. Toxic compounds are created at every step in between. Smokestack filters only reduce and remove a certain amount of pollutants, and some are not filtered out at all. Dioxins and furans are almost always present and found in the materials emitted from the incinerator smokestack.
The particle size of much of the dioxins and furans measured in smokestack emissions is the smallest category, the ultra-fine size. Not only are many particles of that size not captured by the filters and pollution devices in the smokestack, they are also the most dangerous to breathe. Those are the particles the lungs are unable to filter out as well, and they go deep in the lung’s air sacs and into the bloodstream. A study published in the Journal of Air and Waste Management that analyzed measurements of dioxins in various size emission particles has shown that when the particle size decreases, the quantity of dioxins found increases. The National Institute of Health also showed the same results when testing samples of the dust in the air.
According to the National Institute of Health, much of the formation of dioxins is thought to take place in the exhaust gases as the emissions begin to cool. This is one of the primary reasons for the toxic chemical being released along with other emissions from the incinerator. While some are produced prior to that point in the process and partially filtered or deposited in the fly ash, a significant quantity makes it out of the smokestack and into the atmosphere.
The incinerators are huge and stay hungry for as much trash as they can be fed. Sometimes an incinerator may be closely located to a major highway, but usually the trash trucks need to travel through local streets and neighborhoods to reach the incinerator. Then, they dump their load and travel right back out again through the local streets and neighborhoods. Besides the noise they make, they also stir up dust and dirt and burn diesel fuel in the truck engines, adding more fine particulate matter for the residents nearby to breathe and the diesel fumes contain chemicals considered known carcinogens.
The particles in incinerator emissions contribute to serious health issues. When these are inhaled, the particles and other pollutants are often too small to be filtered by the lungs and little cleansing hairs in the upper airways. They make their way deep into the lungs and eventually the bloodstream. The amount of particles emitted from one of these trash incinerators is measured in tons per year.
The incinerator operators brag about how effective their pollution control devices are and how they eliminate much of the pollution. Regardless of how well they work, there are still tons of fine and ultra-fine particulate material too small to be completely filtered out of the exhaust gases. Many of these escape and wind up covering the local areas, waiting to be breathed in and trapped in the lungs where they can do significant damage.
State of the art filters and scrubbers do decrease the amount of pollutants released from these incinerators, in some cases tremendously from 20 years ago. However, for many of the pollutants and toxins currently emitted, the amounts are still far above harmless levels. In fact, according to the EPA, exposure to even very small amounts of toxins like mercury, lead, and dioxin cause irreparable damage, especially in children.
Furthermore, the information the incineration industry touts almost entirely relies on testing done under 100% optimal and perfect conditions. They do not address the startup phase in which incomplete burning is common, nor do they address upsets, which happen frequently in the combustion chamber, releasing pollution in far greater quantities. Occurring quite frequently, upset conditions are when the incinerator is not running properly, a state that can be caused by several reasons. There could be an imbalance in the various types of materials being burned. There could also be an issue with the temperature. If the incinerator is too hot, the emissions controls need to be bypassed for safety reasons to avoid an explosion or other issue. If the incinerator is not hot enough, it cannot completely burn what is in the incinerator and more waste is vented partially burned into the air.
In Baltimore, a trash incinerator emitted 300 pounds of lead into the surrounding neighborhoods and communities. Lead is a dangerous heavy metal known to harm children’s developing brains and pregnant mothers’ unborn babies. The city is trying to get the incinerator to upgrade its pollution control devices and enacted more stringent air pollution regulations in an attempt to force the operators to comply or close. There is a court battle over whether the new rules are legal. The incinerator was responsible for emitting over 1,100 tons of nitrogen oxides in a single year.
In Montgomery County, Maryland, the trash incinerator is one of the major polluters in the county. The facility located in Dickerson emitted over 390,000 tons of pollutants according to the group Chesapeake Climate Action Fund.
In a heavily industrialized area in the city of Baltimore, according to figures from the EPA, in 2014 one incinerator was responsible for 64% of nitrogen oxides and 82% of sulfur dioxide inside Baltimore city limits.
In Saugus, Massachusetts, the trash incinerator owned by Wheelabrator is an older incinerator, and the cost to upgrade the pollution control devices to meet new Massachusetts standards for nitrogen oxide is very costly. The operator is requesting an exemption from having to meet the new standards and be allowed to continue polluting at the more dangerous levels it had been. Health effects from high levels of nitrogen oxides include irritation of the respiratory system, nausea, coughing, difficulty breathing, skin and eye irritation, increased symptoms of asthma, and respiratory infections. There are 150,000 residents living in the area the incinerator emissions impact.
If the incinerator is not allowed to continue releasing the current amounts, they are asking the state to allow them to purchase emission credits to offset the extra pollution. Emission credits are created by companies who actually reduce their emissions and get credits for the accomplishment. The rules of the game, however, allow those companies to sell the credits to bad polluters like Wheelabrator who uses them to continue emitting non-compliant levels of pollution. Residents are asking the state to deny the request and force the company to comply or close.
Regularly occurring situations in the incinerator cause large amounts of hazardous chemicals to vent to the atmosphere. This venting of hazardous chemicals is much more common than the industry likes to admit. Particularly when the incinerator is starting up or shutting down, materials placed in the incinerator may not get an optimum operating condition to completely destroy them. Releases of heavy metals, dioxins, and mercury in excess of what should be emitted are quite possible. There are other reasons this could occur, such as a malfunction in the equipment, the operators not conforming with propers standards, and even unpredictable coincidences.
In Newark, New Jersey, the trash incinerator sent out pink smoke clouds. Local television and social media showed pictures of the smoke billowing out. The incinerator spokesman said there was nothing to see; the unusual color must have come from a load that had too much iodine in it. They then blamed it on the customers. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the trash incinerator sent out billows of pink smoke too. The spokesperson repeated the same story as Newark. The EPA lists iodine as an inhalant with a serious risk to health. Iodine can irritate the lungs, and in high exposure, could cause a build-up of fluids in the lungs. In the meantime, it can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The trash incinerator industry has a track record of having accidents. Considering they literally set things on fire in their incinerators, accidental fires are far from a rare occurrence. When fires do happen, all of the emissions from whatever is on fire goes directly into the air. Any heavy metals, dioxins, and fine particulate matter blanket nearby areas, and residents are subjected to breathing the polluted air.
In Fairfax County, Virginia, an incinerator that burns one million tons of trash per year caught on fire. The smoke billowing out contained unknown chemicals and substances. The firemen were unable to control the fire for a while because of limited access. The surrounding community is being subjected to whatever is in the smoke and ashes raining down.
Six firefighters needed medical attention from issues related to fighting the blaze. While the county claims there should not be any long-term effects to the residents, the inhalation of the smoke and fine particles led to irritation of the eyes and throat, difficulty breathing, and chest pain in some residents. The county said that because the fire lasted a relatively short time, there should not be long term health issues but obviously if there are complications, people should continue to see their doctor.
There have been three previous fires at this facility.
In Dickerson, Maryland, another of Covanto’s trash incinerators caught fire. When fire personnel arrived, there was an 85 foot high pile of trash engulfed in flames. This fire burned for 11 days before it was able to be extinguished. This facility also had two other fires earlier that year. The company says everything is under control and they are in compliance with regulations. During the fire, Montgomery County issued a stay in place health advisory for people who have respiratory issues due to high amounts of particulate matter in the air. The emissions from the open trash fire released emissions that may have contained dioxins, lead, and mercury. Despite the plant owners telling the county and public everything was fine, during 2016, the plant was shut down for 105 days for what the operators described as unscheduled outages in a seven month period.
Violations of environmental laws often go unenforced, and so the incinerator operators routinely exceed permitted emissions–a significant problem. Sometimes, holes are written into the laws to allow for these emissions.
In the city of Detroit, an environmental group watches the incinerator run by Detroit Renewable Energy. They reviewed emission violations between 2013 and 2017 and found that the incinerator had exceeded allowable limits almost 800 times. The total number of times the state Department of Environmental Quality issued fines was eight. The regulations were written so the incinerator can exceed pollution limits anytime the equipment is starting up or shutting down.
The state enforcement also used their own arbitrary guidelines for other emissions as well. The rule says the facility can’t exceed carbon monoxide emission for over 60 minutes. However, the state only enforces that regulation when they exceed emissions for over two hours, or double the exposure time. The spokesperson for Detroit Renewable Energy said “We are trying to be a better neighbor.”
It costs money to dispose of the leftover ash and unburned materials from the incinerator. Proper management of the toxic ash is a problem for incinerators. The level of toxicity often requires special disposal methods to be used. The costs of disposal may skyrocket. To avoid this, it is a common practice to blend highly toxic ash with less toxic material to reduce the level of toxicity, making it easier to dispose of in less expensive landfills as solid waste.
Ash management is a problem for incinerators, and serious cases of mismanagement have occurred in recent years. In Massachusetts, an incinerator owned by Wheelabrator was caught not properly treating and disposing of the toxic ash leftover after burning trash. They also were caught releasing 8,000 gallons of ash sludge and contaminated water into the streams, rivers, and wetlands surrounding three of their facilities. The incinerator operator was fined $7.5 million dollars. Depending on how many other times they were never caught doing the same thing, the amount of the fine is likely small compared to the amount of money they earn.
Living near a trash incinerator subjects people in the area to constant exposure to hazardous emissions and large amounts of particulate matter. Trash incinerators are certainly not safe to have in a residential community. The risks both to human health and the community are many.
In spite of this, in two dozen states the lobbyists for the waste industry have managed to get approval for tax credits for trash incineration companies. Covanta’s incinerator in Oregon is trying to get it approved there now. The company donated $35,000 to political campaigns in 2018 as the decision was nearing.
In 2019 in the state of Maryland, lawmakers passed a bill that mandated a large increase in the percentage of energy which must be from green and renewable sources. Through the use of the powerful waste industry lobbying groups, the law also now considers trash incineration renewable energy. Burning of large amounts of plastic and other recyclable materials does not meet any reasonable definition of renewable energy.
There are no upsides to trash incinerators. From the day one opens its doors for the first truckload of trash until the day it closes, it will be one of the largest polluters and sources of hazardous emissions in town. Stay as far away from them as you can manage.