Does municipal solid waste composting make economic sense?
- North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
Currently there is a widespread interest on the part of local governments in incorporating municipal solid waste (MSW) composting into their integrated solid waste management systems. However, there is little information on the costs of MSW composting and how those costs compare with the costs of alternative forms of waste disposal (especially traditional land disposal). This article begins to fill this information gap by reporting the results of a survey of 19 MSW compositing facilities around the US. Results indicate that MSW composting generally costs around $50 per ton, and that very few facilities receive any revenues from the sale of compost to offset operating costs. Additional economic analysis indicates that, at present, MSW composting cannot be justified on financial grounds in most parts of the US, but may be competitive with land disposal where the cost of landfilling is high (such as the north-east).
- OSTI ID:
- 290226
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 53, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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