We also burn a lot of our trash, unless there is a burn ban in effect. If you burn it regularly and don't build too big a fire, you don't have to pull a permit. It would not be cost effective to burn, if you had to pay a $50.00 fee for a permit.
Our house still has an incinerator in the basement left over from the fifties. So far, our township in Pa. has a "you put it by the road, we take it away" collection policy.