Incineration is so old news.

Municipalities hip to modern-day technology are investing in “waste-to-energy” facilities, council heard this week.

“Incineration is the old word,” Coun. Wayne Gardy remarked, after council agreed to erase the touchy term from a motion that will see Orillia’s waste management advisory committee explore the merits of garbage burning.

“Incineration brings with it a horrible, negative connotation,” agreed Coun. Michael Fogarty.

The divisive issue arrived in council’s lap courtesy of resident Ross Goddard.

The local man is proposing that Orillia follow the lead of Brampton and other communities that boast facilities capable of harnessing the energy produced by burning garbage.

That energy can then be used to power homes and factories and reduce taxes, he said.

Sweden is among the many European countries that have experienced great success with the technology, Goddard said.

“They are actually begging other countries to bring them their waste,” he added.

Goddard – who uses the term “incinerator” several times in a letter to council – said the technology could raise millions of dollars for the municipality.

Taxes “can go nowhere but down,” he added.

At least one councillor was less than fired up by the presentation.

Coun. Don Evans argued that Goddard failed to provide the “impartial scientific assessment of these technologies that we deserve.”

Orillians already debated the issue several years ago, Evans noted.

“I can’t remember a more unhappy community than that community at that time,” he added.

A majority of councillors agreed to explore the issue further, forwarding it to the city’s waste management advisory committee for investigation.

“I think we owe it to ourselves to have the conversation,” said Fogarty.

An Ottawa-based facility converts burning trash to usable energy without the need for smoke stacks, Coun. Ralph Cipolla told his colleagues.

“Instead of putting out ash, it produces what they call slag, which can be used for building roads and that kind of stuff,” he added.

While willing to investigate the  Brampton experience, Coun. Joe Fecht warned that incineration is a “tremendous financial endeavour.”

Orillia would be better served by focusing on waste reduction, he said.

Mayor Ron Stevens, who dealt with the issue during his time as chair of the county’s environmental services committee, warned council that any discussion of incineration would require extensive public consultation.