Does the UK incinerate waste?

Yes, the UK incinerates waste, and for general waste it is now the main route rather than landfill. Energy-from-waste plants burn residual waste that cannot be recycled and use the heat to generate electricity; London's general waste mostly goes this way, through transfer stations to plants in and around the capital. Recyclables, food waste and garden waste are treated separately and are not burned. The plants are permitted and monitored by the Environment Agency, with the flue gases cleaned before release and the ash processed into aggregate. Incineration sits below recycling in the waste hierarchy and above landfill, which is why reducing what goes in the general bin still matters even where nothing is landfilled.