It is a lot cleaner to burn, though. I dunno why we don't make better use of burnable waste materials to generate electricity, rather than sticking them in landfills. Emissions-wise, it is no more dirty than burning coal or other biomass products that we are already utilizing (I've seen the emissions numbers for a plant that once burned creosote-treated wood products, and has now switched to whole-tree chips). Storing a shovel-full of ash in the landfill is more efficient than storing the uncombusted products.