Incineration plants not answer to trash problem

Garbage incineration plants have been replacing landfills, becoming a main waste treatment method in some developed countries in the past couple of years, especially in small countries such as Japan and Germany where space for landfills is scarce.

Pollution has resulted from landfills, and less and less land to bury garbage has pushed China down the same road. However, decades of practice in Japan and other countries showed that no matter how advanced the technology of garbage incineration is, dioxin-free emissions cannot be guaranteed.

Garbage incineration plants cause more harm than good to the environment and the health hazards from these plants outweigh the benefits. Dioxin is created by burning garbage, a dangerous chemical with high toxicity.

Even if the dioxins emitted from all the garbage incineration plants in China could reach the European Union's standard, an adult would still breathe in 10 times the standard amount a month.

In addition, dioxins can accumulate in people's bodies and linger for a very long time, increasing the chance of cancer.

A 2007 report from Japan shows that the number of people who had cancer within 1,200 meters of an incineration plant was twice the number of people who were diagnosed with cancer outside that circle. This report was based on a 10-year observation of residents living near an incineration plant.

Around 90 percent of pollutants from burning garbage will transform into ash and slag, rather than smoke. The ash and slag can damage the environment if not properly handled.

Under the current management system in China, slag usually goes into landfills, which can pollute water and soil and damage the food chain.

Many believe an incineration plant is a better way to treat garbage than landfills. By burning, the volume and weight of garbage can be cut down greatly. But we have to face the fact that an incineration plant can only transform solid garbage into gas, not make it disappear.

The garbage in developed countries contains many high-calorific value goods, such as furniture and textiles. Around 60 percent of the garbage from Chinese households is kitchen waste, which is not suitable for burning and generating power because of its low-calorific value.

Proper garbage sorting can greatly reduce burnable waste. Suitable plastics, electronic waste and construction waste should be recycled after sorting, which would stop many items from going into incinerators. There is no need for large burning facilities to be built if garbage could be sorted and recycled first.

Compared with other garbage treatment methods, burning is the most expensive way to handle household waste, not to mention it can put people's lives in danger. The government should emphasize garbage sorting and recycling rather than burning.

Last but not the least is the lack of management and supervision. Without a supervision system, it is difficult for profit-driven businessmen to reach emission standards.

The government offers subsidy and preferential policies to those in the garbage incineration industry, which can easily attract unqualified plant owners without proper supervision.

Seven investigations during 2010 to 2011 in Hebei province show that many incineration plants do not operate because of the low-calorific value of garbage in China. Some plants secretly bury garbage in landfills after getting a subsidy from the government.

The author is a former researcher with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences and a leader of the anti-incineration movement in Beijing.