MYTH 1: Incineration is renewable energy
REALITY: Burning plastic = burning fossil fuels. Burning waste, especially plastics made from fossil fuels, is not renewable energy. It’s simply another way of burning fossil fuels, producing significant emissions. Incineration destroys materials that could be recycled or reused, undermining a genuine circular economy.
MYTH 2: Modern incinerators are safe and clean
REALITY: Incinerators create toxic pollutants - dioxins, heavy metals, and fine particles linked to health risks, cancer and birth defects.
MYTH 3: Europe shows incineration works
REALITY: Bans (including in the ACT), closures, moratoriums, paused permits, and removal of financial incentives are in place all around
the world. Some plants are now reconsidering their waste importation volumes, due to the undermining of climate goals and increased CO2 emissions.
MYTH 4: Incineration solves Australia’s waste crisis
REALITY: Waste doesn’t disappear, it becomes air pollution, and roughly one-third remains toxic and must still be dumped in landfill.
Incinerators commit communities to decades of waste production, with no efforts to change behaviours, nor move towards zero waste principles.
Recovery of metals equates to only 2% of the amount of waste incinerated.
MYTH 5: Waste operations are managed to the highest standard
REALITY: Multiple breaches have occurred all around the world.
Croydon, London incinerator exceeded air pollution limits 916 times between 2022 and 2024, with 16 breaches of its licence.
Kwinana WA plant has not yet published any monitoring data.
Rockingham WA plant is in receivership with $740M in debt.
Cleanaway has a documented history of non-compliance, including repeated issues managing landfill sites. Recently fined over $600K, the highest penalty ever handed down under the QLD EPA for an environmental odour nuisance offence, plus they also unlawfully pumped contaminated water around the site and used it for dust suppression.
The NSW EPA is actively investigating similar concerns with Cleanaway’s Sydney site, and have required them to update their infrastructure, maintenance and operations; and improve their monitoring and sampling practices.
Cleanaway in May 2026 has been ordered to pay a $1.1M fine for workplace failures that led to a double fatal crash at the base of Adelaide’s South Eastern Freeway in August 2014. The crash claimed two lives, and left one of its drivers with life-changing injuries. The penalty is the largest ever imposed under federal work health and safety laws.
MYTH 6: Residual waste is waste that cannot be avoided, reused or recycled, that would otherwise go to landfill
REALITY: There is no sorting prior to incineration. Sorting is left to consumers, and existing recycling streams are not fully utilised. Burning resources means more virgin resources are needed for manufacturing.
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