Why can’t we simply burn all the non-renewable waste (such as single-use plastics, etc) and vent the gasses and particulate matter into holding containers to prevent their absorption into the environment?

Question

Is it a matter of the technology not existing? I understand it’s a grossly oversimplified model and I am neither an engineer nor a chemist, but I can’t imagine that we couldn’t simply set up a furnace that vents down a cooling pipe into a container or facility that captures the gasses and toxic particulate/waste for either further processing, reuse in industry, or just to stockpile.

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

We can, and it has been proposed before, but all that means is that instead of toxic solids in the environment, you have toxic pressurised gas canisters in the environment. Neither is ideal, and one is a lot more expensive than the other.