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Practice of waste burning for energy: an option for the US?

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While waste burning for energy generation is a common practice in Sweden, environmental concerns might hold the US back from permission. Image source: Shutterstock (#287076044)

While burning waste for the production of energy is a common practice in Sweden, it is highly debated in the US. As environmental scientists point out, the burning of wasts sets pollutants free: nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury compounds, and dioxins. Further, if burning waste for electricity becomes an established part of energy source, it will be harder to reduce waste in the first place or to recycle it. It will be up to US politicians to decide whether the energy production from waste might still be a better choice than leaving waste decompose in landfills.

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