Incineration
Incineration is a possible component of an integrated waste management program for
large cities where space for landfills may be limited and siting of landfills outside of city
jurisdictions may be politically difficult. Much of the waste stream can be significantly
reduced in volume by being burned, and often there is sufficient heating value in the
waste to produce power from the process. Incineration is often pursued by municipal officials
as a key waste disposal option since they are perceived to have less public opposition
to landfilling and they involve one-time large capital allocations that may be easier to
budget and acquire. However incineration is usually constrained by three key aspects;
very high cost, potentially toxic emissions, and an incinerator’s ability to act as a disincentive
to other more economically and environmentally sound waste disposal options.
Shanghai provides an illustrative example for Chinese cities. At least 3% of Shanghai’s
GDP is now spent on solid waste management, and this share is growing quickly.
Shanghai’s total waste management costs will likely be most influenced by the amount of
incineration used (collection costs are the largest fraction of waste management costs but
they are not largely impacted by waste disposal type). As a “ball park” estimate, if