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To you, incinerators generate a lot of toxic pollutants, but if you research this topic more closely you will see that most of the toxic pollutants don’t reach the atmosphere. Landfills are the main destination for Canadian solid waste. In 1998 nearly 21 million tones of waste was disposed of in 767 landfills, and in 45 incinerators across the country. Landfill sites generate over a quarter of the methane emissions caused by human activity in Canada, sending 1.2 million tones of this potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere each year. Because the global warming effect of methane is 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, this is the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from more than six million cars – or 40 per cent of all the passenger vehicles in the country. While innovative technologies have been developed to capture this gas for use as fuel in heating buildings or generating electricity, landfills are not a long term solution to waste management for future generations. Innovative programs to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need to use valuable land as garbage dumps are what is needed to ensure a continuation of the quality of life Canadians have enjoyed. A Leader in Converting Waste into Energy St