Incineration

Incineration is a form of waste disposal in which waste is burnt. Incineration converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and heat. The heat can be used to generate electricity with a steam turbine.

Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. 1894 destructor furnace at Cambridge Museum of Technology

Trash burning in an incinerator. The heat released by the burning trash is used to generate electricity.

A waste incinerator in Leeds, England.

History

The first incinerators for waste disposal were built in Nottingham by Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. in 1874. They were originally known as destructors.^[1] The first incinerator in the US was built in 1885 on Governors Island in New York, NY.^[2] Incinerators are controversial because they can pollute the air, but they also have environmental benefits such as reducing the need for landfills and generating electricity that might otherwise be generated by burning coal.