In Amsterdam, the Netherlands we have waste separating machines which separate metal and plastics etc from garbage for recycling. The rest we burn, the exhaust is filtered and washed. The heat from the furnaces we use to generate electricity. The leftover ashes and slak we use for road construction. This is still not considered to be entirely "green", but landfills are not in use anymore in the Netherlands. Further more, there is a lot of effort to reduce waste. You can call a service that will pick up old furniture and other items (for example building materials) for free or minimal cost. They take care of re-use or disassembly for recycling. More than half of the waste is not burned, but recycled.