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Is incineration the terminator of plastics and microplastics?
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Researchers extracted microplastics from the bottom ash of 17 different types of incinerators and identified them by micro-FTIR spectroscopy, demonstrating that incineration does not fully destroy plastic waste and that unburned microplastics persist in ash residues.
It is widely accepted that incineration can permanently eliminate plastic waste. However, unburned material still exists in the bottom ash that is a solid residue from incinerators. In this study, microplastics exacted from bottom ash in 12 mass burn incinerators, one bottom ash disposal center and four fluidized bed incinerators were identified by micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that bottom ash was a neglected microplastics source with an abundance of 1.9-565 n/kg, which indicated that per metric ton waste produce 360 to 102,000 microplastic particles after incineration. Nine types of plastics were identified, of which polypropylene and polystyrene were the predominant types. Microplastics sized between 50 μm and 1 mm accounted for 74 %. Granules, fragments, film, and fibers accounted for 43 %, 34 %, 18 %, and 5 % of the microplastics, respectively. The abundance of microplastics differed significantly with whether the local waste was source-separated, the local gross domestic product per capita, and the types of furnace. The global microplastics emission from incineration bottom ash was then estimated. Our observations provide empirical evidence proving that incineration is not the terminator of plastic waste, and bottom ash is a potential source of microplastics released into the environment.
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Researchers sampled ash from two municipal solid waste incinerators in Iran over one year, finding microplastics present even after incineration. This indicates that current incineration practices do not fully eliminate microplastics and that incinerator ash may be a source of plastic pollution if applied to land or landfilled.
Can incineration completely eliminate plastic wastes? An investigation of microplastics and heavy metals in the bottom ash and fly ash from an incineration plant
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Researchers examined fly ash, bottom ash, and surface soil from a municipal solid waste incinerator for microplastics and heavy metals, finding that incineration did not completely eliminate plastics — with fibers persisting in fly ash — and that fly ash heavy metal concentrations exceeded safety thresholds in several categories.
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Even burning your trash doesn't fully get rid of plastic. Scientists studying 18 waste incineration plants in South Korea found that microplastics don't just disappear when plastic waste is burned—they survive in the leftover ash, with the amount varying based on which burning method was used. Since this ash often ends up in landfills or building materials, this research helps identify which incineration methods best minimize microplastic pollution getting back into our environment.
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Researchers examined microplastic concentrations and types in ash residues from small-town municipal solid waste pyrolysis incineration plants in southern China. They found abundant microplastics in the ash and surrounding soils, suggesting pyrolysis does not completely destroy microplastics and residues can contaminate nearby environments.
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Researchers developed a Raman spectroscopy framework to identify thermally aged microplastics and validated it in waste-to-energy incineration emissions, detecting atmospheric microplastics with a median particle length of 9.0 µm and highlighting incineration as an underappreciated source of airborne plastic pollution.
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