As garbage-burning plants proliferate, Britain could end up with too little waste to put in them

Recycling in Europe is in danger. Excessive incineration capacity in some countries is causing that recyclable waste ends up being burned and that some other increase their waste shipments losing incentives to recycle.

A new study reveals that incinerators already operating in some EU states have the capacity to burn more than the non-recyclable waste generated. Still, industry is pushing to further expand incineration capacity in the European region.

Since the first Waste Decree was approved in Flanders in 1981, regional goals (for overall residential waste generation, separate collection, and residual waste after source separation and home composting) have been met and then exceeded, allowing more ambitious goals to be set in subsequentwaste plans that are developed every four to five years. With these successes, the emphasis of waste management policies transitioned from disposal to source separation and recycling, and finally to waste prevention.

Another inspiring story is featured in Other Worlds excerpted from the report "On the Road to Zero Waste: Successes and Lessons from Around the World" that tackles the success of people power in Hernani, Spain. The opposition of the people to incinerator and their initiative to implement an alternative to burying and burning started a viral practice not only in Hernani, but also to its neighboring towns. Indeed, their state-of-the-art technology is not the incinerator but their people.