And many businesses still don't recycle. As a result, more than 1.5 million tons of recyclable paper and paperboard and a million tons of glass, plastic and wood are thrown away each year. Hazards of Burning and Burying The eight million tons of trash generated each year in Massachusetts presents a threat to our health, environment and economy. Each year in Massachusetts, eight million tons of trash are generated by businesses and consumers. More than five million tons of that garbage, much of it containing toxic chemicals, is burned in polluting incinerators or buried in dangerous landfills.
Garbage incinerators are the single biggest source of mercury emissions in the state.
Seven federal Superfund hazardous waste sites in Massachusetts are former landfills. Leaking landfills have caused the contamination of dozens of water supplies. In children, may cause delayed physical and mental development and deficits in hearing and learning ability. Chronic exposure is linked to kidney, reproductive and neurological disease. Increased risk of cancer even at low levels and suspected of decreasing fertility.