The European Union Directive 2008/98/EC outlines the hierarchy of stages in which waste management should take place. It suggests that waste prevention should be a top priority, followed by reuse and recycling of materials. However, in today's demand- and profit-driven society, this tactic has very little chance of success, certainly in terms of reduction and reuse. As a result, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is expected to increase by 16% by 2020 in the EU-27, with 80% produced in the EU-15 (which includes the UK) (Skovgaard et al ., 2008). This implies that the “3Rs” strategy fails to achieve its main objective: waste reduction. Therefore the focus should also be on options that could help reduce waste accumulation rather than simple prevention. One of the most successful strategies for reducing landfill waste is to divert it to waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. The most widespread form of energy recovery from waste, for technical and economic reasons, is Waste to Energy Incineration (WtEI). It raises a lot of controversy, especially because it is associated with technologies of the past, when there were no controls on air pollution. This has resulted in significant environmental degradation and health problems. Understandably, this left a bad image of incineration. Modern incinerators, however, emit less than 10% of pollutants compared to their counterparts from 25 years ago (DEFRA, 2013). Technology has the potential to play a significant role as part of the waste management strategy but equally important as a component of a balanced energy mix. This essay presents available evidence that sheds new light on waste-to-energy incineration, highlighting its impact on the environment, energy security and human health. In 2011, waste management contributed 17.3 MtCO2e (3.1...... middle of paper ..... .te Management 29, 1718–1724Shalunenko, N., I.,Korolyuk, T. , A., 2012. Glass building material based on ash from waste glass and ceramic incineration plants, vol. 69, no. 11 – 12, March 2013 Skovgaard, M., Hedal, N., Villanueva , A., Andersen, F., M., Larsen, H., 2008. Working paper on waste management and greenhouse gases 2008/1 Available at: http://scp.eionet.europa.eu/ publications/wp2008_1/wp/wp1_2008 Accessed: 4 December 2013Tabasová, A., Kropác, J., Kermes, V., Nemet, A., Stehlík, P., 2012 Waste-to-energy technologies: impact on the environment Energy 44,. 146-155UK Biomass Strategy, 2007. Working Paper 1 – Economic Analysis of Biomass Energy Energy Technology Unit Department of Trade and Industry Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov .uk/+/http://www. dti.gov.uk/files/file39040.pdf Accessed: 24 November 2013