The article compares burning and burying waste to see which is cheaper for society. They looked at costs in the Netherlands and found that burning waste is more expensive than burying it, even though burning can save energy and materials. This is true even in a crowded country like the Netherlands. The same result likely applies to other European countries and the USA. The study suggests that focusing on properly treating and getting energy from landfills is important for waste policy. Waste-to-Energy plants are costly and not the best way to reduce climate change emissions.