Sample of residue 'salt' from the Brussels waste incinerator

Up until the end of the 19th century, reusing and transforming waste was the norm. Important changes in industrial processes at the end of the century made this obsolete. With developments in hygiene, rubbish gradually became something potentially dirty and dangerous, something to get rid of. Waste incineration then appeared as the magical solution. It was initially tested in England with the first waste incinerator in Nottingham (1874) aptly called ‘Destructor’. In Hamburg, Germany, the opening of an incineration plant in 1896 was a consequence of the dreadful cholera epidemic that ravaged the city in 1892. The idea of recovering something from the process is not new. In Copenhagen (Denmark, 1903) and Brno (Austro-Hungarian Empire [today Czechia], 1905), the energy of the burning process was used to produce electricity. In many places, slags were used in the construction sector. In the interwar period, water heated through waste combustion also fed central heating systems, such as in Villeurbanne (Lyon, France). Due to the huge investments needed to develop complex technical plants, incineration did not replace landfills and other methods of disposal in Europe during the 20th century. Furthermore, what was first presented as a hygienic progress proved to pollute the air and soil. In Lausanne (Switzerland) in 2021, dioxins were discovered in the soil and were found to have come from the waste incinerator built in 1958. In Brussels, the regional agency that runs the city’s incinerator claims it operates ‘with the utmost respect for the environment’. But the city had to wait 14 years to have the incinerators’ smoke decontaminated. -Christine Dupont

Collector's mark Position: On a paper label inside of the jar Collecté à l'incinérateur de Bxl. 10/11/2006 SEL Translation: Collected at the Brussels incinerator 10/11/2206 SALT