Incineration Down 9 Percent

Rebekah A. Hall

Minneapolis -- A recent report by EI Digest: Hazardous Waste Marketplace reveals that the United States and Canada incinerated approximately 699,700 tons of waste in 2001. This represents a 9 percent decrease from 2000, when 770,100 tons of waste were incinerated, and the first year since 1996 that the amount of waste incinerated has decreased, according to EI Researcher John McMurray.

"In general, 2001 was an off-year for hazardous waste generation due to the overall economy. However, the prevailing view in the industry is that despite the weak economy, overcapacity within the sector remains the core problem," he says.