Europe’s Trash-Burning Fantasy Is Backfiring

Europe is learning a hard lesson that should never have had to be taught — or, rather, retaught after centuries of human experimentation: burning your trash is not an environmentally friendly activity.

Somehow, the climate lobby managed to convince Europeans otherwise. At least, they had in Spain, where the Gipuzkoa treatment plant incinerates roughly 200,000 tons of waste annually, providing power to approximately 45,000 homes. “The Gipuzkoa plant was meant to be an eco-friendly alternative to landfill, but it’s backfiring,” read one of the least surprising sentences Politico has ever published. Locals allege that the systematic torching of refuse has led to hazardous levels of air, water, and soil pollution.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Europe is learning a hard lesson that should never have had to be taught — or, rather, retaught after centuries of human experimentation: burning your trash is not an environmentally friendly activity.

Somehow, the climate lobby managed to convince Europeans otherwise. At least, they had in Spain, where the Gipuzkoa treatment plant incinerates roughly 200,000 tons of waste annually, providing power to approximately 45,000 homes. “The Gipuzkoa plant was meant to be an eco-friendly alternative to landfill, but it’s backfiring,” read one of the least surprising sentences Politico has ever published. Locals allege that the systematic torching of refuse has led to hazardous levels of air, water, and soil pollution.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.