Waste-to-energy was originally seen as a solution to mountains of waste in landfills across the country. Of course it produces CO2 but when conceived, nobody cared about that. Another display of the incoherence of the “green” people.
Hell, catalytic converters were advertised as turning carbon monoxide into safe carbon dioxide. How times change.
Wheelabrator Industries operates multiple plants that burn trash to create electricity. All my trash from my house in southern NH goes there. With the exception of construction debris and household furniture/carpets, etc.. We actually recycle steel/tin, cardboard, glass, aluminum, mixed clean paper/newspaper and clear plastic bottles.
These recycled items are pulled out of the waste stream because the all have a value that costs less/ton to haul away than the mixed trash. Aluminum and steel are money makers. Meaning we get paid more than the trucking cost.
The most expensive stuff to get rid of is construction debris. Things like old shingles, drywall, etc have to go to a special landfill that cost more than the regular land fill.
All the regular plastic (not clear, #2, colored plastics) get burned in the regular trash because nobody wants them.