The good news is that the mayor says by 2005 our recycling should be double what it is now. To long to wait. Too little to wait for. The Cassandras tell me incineration is not the way to go. There are other studies.
Modern incinerators burn waste at very high temperature under carefully controlled conditions.
The burning releases mostly carbon dioxide, water vapour and heat. What's left is ten per cent of the original volume in the form of inert ash. People who know have told me that there is no problem vitrifying the now-benign ash and storing it harmlessly. Even fly ash, which is mostly cinders, dust and soot is handled by filters, acid gas scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators. Another expert with years in the field commented that there are clearly good and bad incinerators.