Managing municipal solid waste
During the last four or five years, the waste management spotlight has focused mainly on hazardous waste. Now, suddenly municipal solid waste management has emerged as a national issue. This burst of attention usually signifies the emergence of a crisis. It is clear that solid waste management is a serious problem in many urban areas and we need to get on top of it right now. First, we need to cut the quantity of waste we produce and substantially increase our recycling rate. Next, incineration, with attendant energy-recovery is going to be necessary in urban areas, where new landfills will be difficult or impossible to develop. And we will still need well-managed landfills to handle some solid waste directly, as well as to receive incinerator ash or nonrecyclable items. The exact percentages of source reduction, recycling, incineration and landfilling will require state-by-state, locality-by-locality planning. The salient point is that such planning needs to be done and publicly discussed today, not next year. Every state and local planning unit needs a vision for where it is heading in solid waste management. Individual decisions for incinerators or landfills as well as recycling programs should be made in the context of overall plans and goals.
- Research Organization:
- Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6646811
- Journal Information:
- J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc.; (United States) Vol. 38:6; ISSN JPCAA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
320604* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Municipalities & Community Systems-- Municipal Waste Management-- (1980-)
INCINERATORS
MANAGEMENT
MUNICIPAL WASTES
RECYCLING
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SOLID WASTES
URBAN AREAS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES