Good news for waste watchers

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · EPA

OSTI ID:78128

Popkin, R

Recycling--perhaps the most common household practice that benefits the environment--has boomed in the 25 years since the first Earth Day. And all that effort is paying off: more Americans are recycling and composting, and those efforts are reducing waste headed for landfills and incinerators. Even more promising are the future trends: in the year 2000, Americans may be contributing measurably less to the municipal solid-waste stream than they did in 1993. The downward trend--from 4.4 pounds per person per day in 1993 to 4.3 in 2000--is projected in a recent EPA publication. If this happens as projected, it will be the first such drop since 1960, the first year for which comparable data were analyzed. Two developments in particular are driving this trend. Manufacturers are making efforts to reduce the amount of packaging they use, and composting is on the upswing. Trimmings left on American lawns or piled in backyards have steadily increased since 1990. According to this report, more than half of the 50 states now require yard trimmings to be diverted from the waste stream. The total amount sent to landfills or incinerators is projected to decline--from 162 to 152 million tons--even though consumer demands and population growth will boost the amount of waste generated over the next several years from 207 million tons per year in 1993 to 218 million tons in 2000.

• OSTI ID: 78128
• Journal Information: EPA, Journal Name: EPA Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 21; ISSN 0145-1189; ISSN EPAJDB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
COMPOSTING
MUNICIPAL WASTES
RECYCLING
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SOLID WASTES
WASTE MANAGEMENT