EPA testing found that high-temperature municipal waste combustion destroyed or removed approximately 98% of measured PFAS-related compounds.
EPA testing at a Florida municipal waste-to-energy facility found that the combustion process destroyed or removed approximately 98% of the PFAS-related compounds used in the study. The facility operates above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and researchers estimated that its remaining annual PFAS air emissions were relatively low, including minimal PFOA and no detected PFOS.
The results suggest municipal waste combustion may help prevent some PFAS from moving through landfills, leachate, and landfill gas, but the performance was lower than the destruction rates achieved by higher-temperature hazardous waste incinerators. Additional research is needed because municipal facilities use different technologies and operating conditions, and the complex mixture of materials in household waste makes it difficult to measure the full amount and fate of PFAS entering the system.
