Composting: The next step?
Composting is a natural process, and is, therefore, as old as the earth. And yet, while composting is growing as a method of solid waste management--for municipal solid waste (MSW), yard waste, sludge, food waste, etc.--in many ways, it is still in its infancy. Like recycling, municipal composting (as opposed to agricultural) existed in various sporadic or fledgling enterprises in years past. But unlike recycling, which can point to a past history of scrap and steel recycling and a nationwide effort during World War II, municipal composting programs of the 1950s and 1960s are either looked on as failures or rural experiments whose example did not transfer well when carried out on a larger scale in metropolitan areas. Today, however, there are an estimated 4,000 + municipal composting facilities in the US, according to various sources, the vast majority of which are dedicated to yard waste. One reason for this is that the concept of composting is easy to understand--reusing of waste in another form rather than discarding it.
- OSTI ID:
- 205276
- Journal Information:
- Waste Age, Journal Name: Waste Age Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 27; ISSN WAGEAE; ISSN 0043-1001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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