Burning waste on a huge scale (6)

I believe the answer is:

sahara

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'burning waste' is the definition.
'Sahara' can be an answer for 'waste' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'burning' bit.

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sahara that I've seen before include "World's largest desert" , "Great desert in N Africa" , "North African desert" , "Hottest desert" , "World's largest sandy area" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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