Garbage
In 1999, the United States generated 230 million tons of municipal solid waste, compared with 195 million tons in 1990, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates. On average, each person generated 4.6 lb (2.1 kg) of such waste per day in 1999, and the EPA expects that amount to continue increase. That waste includes cans, bottles, newspapers, paper and plastic packages, uneaten food, broken furniture and appliances, old tires, lawn clippings, and other refuse. This waste can be placed in landfills, incinerated, recycled, or in some cases composted.
Landfilling—waste disposed of on land in a series of layers that are compacted and covered, usually with soil—is the main method of waste management in this country, accounting for about 57%of the waste. But old landfills are being closed and new ones are hard to site because of community opposition. Landfills once were open dumps, causing unsanitary conditions, methane explosions, and releases of hazardous chemicals into groundwater and air. Old dumps make up 22% of the sites on the Superfund National Priorities List. Today, landfills must have liners, gas collection systems, and other controls mandated under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Incineration has been popular among solid waste
managers because it helps to destroy bacteria and toxic chemicals and to reduce the volume of waste. But public opposition, based on fears that toxic metals and other chemical emissions will be released from incinerators, has made the siting of new facilities extremely difficult. In the past, garbage burning was done in open fields, in dumps, or in backyard drums, but the Clean Air Act (1970) banned open burning, leading to new types of incinerators, most of which are designed to generate energy.
Recycling, which consists of collecting materials from waste streams, preparing them for market, and using those materials to manufacture new products, is catching national attention as a desirable waste management method. As of 1999, all states and the District of Columbia had some type of statewide recycling law aimed at promoting greater recycling of glass, paper, metals, plastics, and other materials. Used oil, household batteries, and lead-acid automotive batteries are recyclable waste items of particular concern because of their toxic constituents.
Composting is a waste management approach that relies on heat and microorganisms—mostly bacteria and fungi—to decompose yard wastes and food scraps, turning them into a nutrient-rich mix called humus or compost. This mix can be used as fertilizer. However, as with landfills and incinerators, composting facilities have been difficult to site because of community opposition, in part because of the disagreeable smell generated by some composting practices.
Recently, waste managers have shown interest in source reduction, reducing either the amount of garbage generated in the first place or the toxic ingredients of garbage. Reusable blankets instead of throw-away cardboard packaging for protecting furniture is one example of source reduction. Businesses are regarded as a prime target for source reduction, such as implementing double-sided photocopying to save paper, because the approach offers potentially large cost savings to companies.
Resources
Books
Blumberg, L., and R. Gottlieb. War on Waste: Can America Win Its Battle With Garbage? Washington, DC: Island Press, 1989.
Underwood, J., A. Hershkowitz, and M. de Kadt. Garbage—Practices, Problems, Remedies. New York: INFORM, 1988.
U.S. Office of Technology Assessment. Facing America's Trash: What Next For Municipal Solid Waste? Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.
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