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Say NO to Waste Incinerators: Protect Our Health and Environment
Waste incinerators (also known as waste to energy incinerators) are an outdated, costly, and dangerous way to manage our waste and make energy. They pose big financial risks, release toxic air pollutants, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hazardous waste ash, produce more carbon dioxide than coal, oil and gas, and undermine progress towards better waste solutions that support a circular economy.
Waste Incinerators: Are a big financial risk
Lock Councils into Long-Term Contracts: These contracts work for waste incinerator owners but not for councils and end up being a huge financial burden for councils for decades. Councils are locked into paying for, or providing the required volume of waste for the life of the project (30ys+) even when they reduce their residual waste volumes and better alternatives are available.
Not Competitive: The energy produced is 3 to 5 times more expensive than renewable energy.
Undermine the Circular Economy and State Waste Targets. Incinerators burn finite waste resources needed for the Circular Economy and the Reuse, Recycling and Composting sectors which provide superior resource recovery and waste management outcomes.
Block Innovation: Incinerators undermine investment in cheaper, more effective and scalable waste solutions that don’t harm our health, environment or budgets.
Not the Only Solution: Councils are being told there are no other solutions. This is false and misleading. Non combustion residual waste disposal alternatives are already being used in many countries. These include Mechanical Recovery Biological Treatment (MRBT), Anaerobic Digestion and other technologies such as Gas Phase Chemical Reduction (GPCR). These technologies can also generate energy.
More solutions for processing residual waste can be found in the Toxic Free Australia Factsheet.
Europe is moving away from waste incinerators because they have become financially unviable due to carbon taxes and cannot meet tougher environmental regulations. But the State Government is enshrining this one residual waste management technology in policy and legislation, effectively locking out better options and gifting millions of dollars in public funds to the most expensive and polluting way to manage our residual waste.
By choosing outdated incinerators, we are failing our communities, which expect responsible and accountable leadership to ensure everyone's safety.
Why Waste Incinerators Are Dangerous Health Risks
Toxic Contamination: Incinerators release Persistent Organic Pollutants (ie Dioxin, Furans, Bromines) for which there are no safe levels of exposure. POPs are bio-accumulative, persistent in the environment and transboundary, making their pollution globally significant. Incinerators are one of the top five sources of Mercury pollution globally and generate large volumes of hazardous waste in the form of ash. The UN Stockholm, Minamata and Basel Conventions compel Australia to eliminate these globally significant pollutants and wastes which are associated with cancer and chronic diseases.
Air Pollution: Incinerators produce air pollution that is associated with cardiovascular and chronic disease, morbidity and mortality. Large volumes of Nitrous Oxides and PM2.5 as well as PFAS and microplastics are emitted from incinerators.
Environmental Damage
High Emissions: Incinerators emit more climate pollution per unit of energy than coal, oil and gas.
Resource Waste: Incinerators destroy finite resources and create toxic ash that requires special handling and landfills. Incinerators entrench a linear economic system just like landfill, at a time when we need to move to a Circular Economy.
Persistent Pollution: Incinerators emit 'forever chemicals' and other highly toxic pollutants (ie Dioxin, PFAS, nanoparticles) into the surrounding environment that accumulate up the food chain. 12 million residents in Paris have been warned by health authorities not to consume backyard chicken eggs and produce due to incinerator pollution. Many other countries are also affected.
Outdated and Inefficient
Old Technology: Incinerators are outdated. They force councils to generate more waste and are very expensive.
Hindering Progress: They prevent investments in better waste solutions that are healthier and more effective.
Common Myths About Waste Incineration
Myth #1 Incineration Better Than Landfill
Incineration is actually worse for the planet: Incinerators are worse for the environment on every measure,
very carbon intensive (emit 1 to 1.5 tonnes of carbon pollution for every tonne of waste burnt),
rely on fossil fuels, primarily plastic that has a high calorific value, to create small amounts of dirty energy.
create toxic fly and bottom ash, requiring secure hazardous waste landfills.
disperse highly toxic cancer-causing particles into the air,
has been shown to contaminate the surrounding environment with 'forever chemicals', impacting agriculture and home produce such as backyard chicken eggs, fruit and vegetables, soil and waterways.
entrenches an extractive linear economy (extraction, consumption, disposal) when we need to urgently move to a Circular Economy.
Methane from landfill can be avoided without incineration: While landfills can produce methane, removing organic waste through better source separation and composting can significantly reduce these emissions. Incinerator proponents often promote this false comparison with landfills so as to exaggerate their benefits, but Australia has a national FOGO policy that diverts organic waste from landfill making this claim redundant. Burning organic waste destroys the opportunity to sequester carbon back into the biosphere through composting which is a proven climate, environment and health benefit.
Burning plastics is worse than burying them: Burning plastics in incinerators releases harmful greenhouse gases and highly toxic and persistent air pollution. Plastics in landfills don't have this problem. The small amount of energy gained by burning plastic is lost when the embedded energy in the plastic is accounted for and the full costs of incineration (climate, air and health costs) are included.
Myth #2 Waste incineration is a form of renewable energy
Energy from incineration is NOT renewable: Incineration burns materials made from non-renewable resources like oil. The EU does not provide RE subsidies to incinerators and tax them for their high carbon pollution emissions and as a waste disposal technology just like landfill.
Incineration is highly emissions intensive: Incineration produces more CO2 per unit of electricity generated than coal, oil and gas energy plants.
What Councils Can Do
Oppose Incineration: Pass motions to formally oppose all waste to energy incineration projects and to not allow any waste from the municipality to be burnt.
Exclude Incineration: Ensure incineration is not part of the waste management, Circular Economy and climate strategies.
Avoid Contracts: Refuse to enter into long-term contracts with incineration companies.
Demand Alternatives: Investigate, innovate and invest in residual waste solutions that are financially competitive, consistent with a circular economy, do not harm our health or the health of our planet and do not provide perverse incentives to increase waste generation.
Support and invest in sustainable zero waste systems: Uphold the waste hierarchy with a focus on better collection and source separation, prioritise resource and materials recovery, increase composting, reuse, refillable and recycling opportunities, support residual waste research and sustainable non-combustion technologies for residual waste management and disposal such as Anaerobic Digestion and MRBT.
Engage the community: Invest in community led repair centres, community gardens, expanded and dedicated Material Recovery Facilities , recycling opportunities and education on zero waste practices.
Ensure Council procures and supports: reusable, refillable, recyclable and compostable products and services.
Encourage industry and businesses in the local government area: to support zero waste practices and policies so that their waste is better separated, reducing the volumes of residual waste generated and requiring disposal.
Victorian 2024 Council Candidates
We are asking all candidates in the upcoming 2024 Victorian Council Elections to sign this pledge
The Pledge
I will not support burning waste.
This includes technologies such as Mass Combustion, Gasification, Pyrolysis, or projects called Advanced Recycling or Chemical Recycling. There are safer and more effective solutions for our residual waste and all waste streams.
If you are not a council candidate, there is still lots you can do. Please let any council candidates in your area know about this pledge, so they have the opportunity to sign it.
You can click on the below link to find the candidates in your council, who have signed the pledge.
If you want to check which council you live in, just type your address in the VEC Victorian Electoral Map
If you wish to contact your existing councillors about this issue, you can find their details here.
Authorised by Jane Bremmer Zero Waste Australia 47 Seventh Avenue Bassendean Perth WA 6054
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