Municipal solid waste, or MSW, can be recovered and turned into biofuel. This process of turning garbage into fuel works twofold: it lessens the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and it keeps trash out of landfills. When MSW is burned rather than buried in landfills, the volume of waste is reduced by about 87%.

Mixed waste processing involves no generator separation of waste, with all waste processed at what’s been called a “dirty” material

recovery facility (MRF). Recyclables are then pulled out at the MRF. It’s the other way to collect household recycling, an “all-in-one” method

During the combustion process, sorted waste is lifted into a combustion chamber to be burned. The heat released during mass burning converts water to steam. The steam then produces electricity through a turbine

generator. Early waste combustion systems were more simple, producing heat and carbon dioxide as well as other pollutants. Now, most incinerators have air-pollution control systems in place to clean flue gases before they are released into the air.