Groups warn of dangers from waste-to-energy incinerators

A number of international environmental groups on Monday warned against the use of waste-to-energy in generating electricity, noting it is toxic to humans and dangerous to the environment. 

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) said in a press release that ''incineration, in particular, stands out as one of the most environmentally harmful and costly waste disposal methods.'' 

“The industry greenwashes incineration as 'waste-to-energy' despite generating minimal amounts of usable energy," GAIA said.

GAIA added ''the incineration industry is exploiting and milking the falsehood of WTE to access billions of dollars in federal, state, and local green, renewable, and sustainable energy subsidies and tax breaks."

"Incinerators are dirtier than the rest of the energy sources. They emit 3.8 times as much greenhouse gases," GAIA pointed out. 

The GAIA said the ash generated by WTE is more toxic than the waste that was burned to produce electricity.

Meanwhile, Zero Waste Asia said the WTE was neither a “just” nor “transitional” source of power as the group also urged for a halt on international funding for WTE projects.

"The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank must stop funding WTE projects to replace coal plants positioned as a renewable source of energy,” said Zero Waste Asia. IFC is a World Bank arm,'' the group said. 

“Worse, privatizing the waste sector almost always displaces waste pickers. It is urgent to phase out these false solutions," it maintained.

Ronald Steenblik, senior technical advisor of Sustainable Just Economic Systems (SJES), supported the conclusions of GAIA, saying that ''WTE plants do reduce plastic as a physical waste but produce large amounts of CO2 emissions, and depending on the sophistication of the plant, the release of toxic air pollutants.''

“Residuals from burning plastics also have to be disposed of properly," he said.—RF, GMA Integrated News