Backyard waste management - problems and benefits of individuals managing their solid waste at home
The problems and benefits of individuals managing their solid wastes at home are surveyed. The survey indicates that as the population rises people tend to burn only the combustible portions of their waste. Some communities have limited ordinances that ban the burning of raw garbage, but other municipalities allow residents to burn all of their wastestream, even though some materials are not combustible and cannot be burned. Potential environmental effects involve both the ash residue and the air emissions. While selected burning can reduce some of the environmental hazards these would probably only be marginally less than the impacts of burning it all. The study clearly indicates that the environmental problems of burn barrels are not insignificant. However, the attitudes and motivations of those who burn waste will have to be addressed by the communities that attempt or should attempt to control this problem. These include: avoidance of waste collection costs; availability of trash cartage services; and habit. Habit is probably as strong a motivation as cost avoidance and ease of collection combined. Residents have often burned trash for several generations and regard the practice as a {open_quotes}god-given right.{close_quotes}
- OSTI ID:
- 41762
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950271-; TRN: 95:003331-0013
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10. conference on solid waste management and materials policy, New York, NY (United States), 19-22 Feb 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of The tenth conference on solid waste management & materials policy and the New York State solid waste management; PB: 162 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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