A while back Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick reinstated the Incinerator Moratorium. The Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has had in place a moratorium on new municipal solid waste combustion facilities since 1990 (greenfutures.org). Incinerators that produce energy are also known as waste to energy facilities (WTE). These facilities burn solid waste (garbage, trash, etc.) and produce energy from the incineration of trash. Many hope this moratorium will increase and expand recycling efforts.
In a perfect world we wouldn’t need incinerators or landfills. The Governor is pushing towards a zero waste society. No society like this currently exists.
Trash still exists even without new incinerators being built. The trash is instead many times being trucked out of state to landfills. This is far from environmentally friendly. Large trucks hauling trash far distances create a large amount of emissions from the diesel trucks exhaust.
Incinerators automatically get a bad rap from people. They're not as evil as most people think. Modern incinerators create energy and power themselves. Most modern incinerators create enough energy to put back into the grid. In Pittsfield, MA a waste to energy facility powers itself and helps power a paper making facility down the street from it.... read more
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