THE SOLID WASTE DILEMMA:
AN AGENDA FOR ACTION
Final Report of the Municipal Solid Waste Task Force
Office of Solid Waste
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
February 1989
Printed on Recycled Paper
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Americans produce more and more solid waste each year; we generate more per
capita than any other nation. But, at the same time that we generate more waste, we
are running out of places to dispose of it. Landfill capacity in some places is
almost filled to the saturation point, and solid waste facilities continue to be
difficult to site because of public resistance, commonly known as the "Not In My
Backyard" (NIMBY) syndrome. Public resistance is often based on environmental
concerns, unpleasant smells, noise, and truck traffic. Public resistance is not
limited to landfills and combustors. Even materials recovery facilities and recycling
centers can be difficult to site. (The feckless voyage of the "garbage barge" in
1987 and the ash barges last year have become national symbols of America's solid
waste dilemma).
Although solid waste management is primarily a local responsibility, the problem
is national in scope, and we need a national strategy to solve it. In response to
this burgeoning problem, EPA created a Municipal Solid Waste Task Force in February
1988 and directed it to fashion a strategy for improving the nation's management of
municipal solid waste. The following report was developed after extensive public
input and consultation with a variety of knowledgeable groups and individuals.
The Agenda for Action offers a number of concrete suggestions for action by not
only EPA, but also government at all levels, industry, and private citizens. This
Agenda cannot be accomplished by government acting alone. Its accomplishment is
contingent on a strong partnership among government, industry and the public. It
calls for a "systems" approach to managing municipal solid waste; that is, the
complementary use of source reduction, recycling, combustion and landfills to
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comprehensively manage municipal solid waste. It also underscores the need for a
fundamental change In the nation's approach to producing, packaging and disposing of
consumer goods. In the past, "business as usual" meant an accelerating trend toward
disposable products, convenience packaging, and an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind"
attitude toward solid waste. As a nation, we can no longer afford this kind of
"business as usual." We must adopt a new solid waste management ethic that
minimizes the amount and toxicity of waste created by the products we make and
purchase, produced during the manufacturing process, and generated by our day-to-day
activities as consumers. That ethic must also maximize the amount of waste materials
that are reused and recycled so that we achieve a fully integrated system for waste
management. In short, we need to change the way we do business. This change will not
be easy, but If we work diligently together, we will achieve our goal. I hope this
report will serve as a centerpiece for this change.
The Agency is very encouraged by the strong support for the Agenda for Action
that was expressed by states, localities, public interest groups, the waste management
Industry and the manufacturing industries. This support shows a real commitment to
Implementing the Agenda for Action. Based upon public comments, the Agenda has been
modified somewhat. The most noteworthy changes are:
o To meet our 25 percent source reduction/recycling goal by 1992, greater
emphasis Is placed on composting. Development of quality guidelines and
standards or guidelines for operation of compost facilities are also planned.
o No specific source reduction/recycling goal is established beyond 1992;
however, the Agency anticipates that the 25 percent level will, be exceeded,
as capital equipment comes on-line for recycling various commodities,
Including paper.
o The goal for source reduction is articulated more clearly to indicate that we
should reverse the ever-Increasing per capita generation of garbage.
o More emphasis is placed on a "systems" approach to waste management,
since meeting a 25 percent recycling and reduction goal still leaves 75 per-
cent of the waste stream to be managed.
o Household hazardous waste (HHW) issues are noted in more detail and are
Included in the source reduction activities section.
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The need for better communication by states and localities to enhance siting
is discussed, and EPA's communications experts are committed to working on
this issue.
Finally, several changes to the schedules have been made, to reflect public
comments and other factors.
a
-J. Winston Porter
Assistant Administrator
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section
Paqe
Executive Summary
Introduction
Scope of the Problem
12
Integrated Waste Management
Hierarchy of Integrated Waste Management
Who's Responsible
Planning
16
17
19
20
National Goals
Objectives
An Agenda for Action
I. Increase Available Information
II. Increase Planning
III. Increase Source Reduction Activities
IV. Increase Recycling
V. Reduce Risks of Combustion
VI. Reduce Risks of Landfills
22
24
26
26
36
40
49
60
65
Conclusion
70
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
Title
Paqe
Next Steps for EPA to Increase Information
Next Steps for EPA to Encourage Increased Planning
35
39
Next Steps for EPA to Encourage Increased Source
Reduction Activities
47
Next Steps for EPA to Participate in and Encourage
Increased Recycling
58
Next Steps for EPA to help Reduce the Risks of
Incineration
64
6 \ Next Steps for EPA to Help Reduce the Risks of
Landfilling
69
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is about what the government calls municipal solid waste, and almost
everyone else calls garbage. As a nation, we generated about 160 million tons of
solid waste last year; by the year 2000, we are projected to generate 190 million
tons. This report is about how we should handle this outflow of refuse - the cans,
the bottles, the leaves and lawn clippings, the paper and plastic packages, the broken
furniture and appliances, the uneaten food and the old tires. This deluge of garbage
is growing steadily and we must find ways to manage it safely and effectively. Eighty
percent of garbage is landfilled. But we're running out of space to bury it in
existing landfills; more than one third of the nation's landfills will be full within
the next few years and many cities are unable to find enough acceptable sites for new
landfills or new combustors. To eliminate this growing capacity gap, all levels of
government, the public and Industry must forge a new alliance to develop and implement
integrated systems for solid waste management.
This report presents the goals and recommendations for action by EPA, state and
local government, industry and private citizens to address the municipal solid waste
management problems that are facing this country. These goals and recommendations are
the result of the efforts of EPA's recently created Municipal Solid Waste Task Force.
The Task Force gathered existing data on municipal waste and problems regarding its
management, solicited input from interested persons and groups, held public meetings
and developed a number of options to address these problems. This summary data is
contained in a supplemental document titled "Background Document for the Solid Waste
Dilemma: An Agenda for Action."
The types and extent of the problem in managing municipal solid waste vary from
region to region depending on waste type, land use and demographic characteristics,
but some trends and problems are clearly national in scope. From 1960 to 1988, we
generated more waste every year, both in total tonnage and in pounds per person, and
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this trend is projected to continue. In addition, we are running out of places to put
our waste because old landfills are closing and few new landfills and combustors are
able to be sited and built. There are concerns about potential threats to human
health and the environment from combustor emissions and ash, from landfill emissions,
leachate, and litter. High costs are borne by the waste generator and handler, as
many areas of the country resort to shipping waste long distances by truck and rail to
areas with available landfill or combustor capacity. Recycling, although a waste
management technique popular with the public, is used currently to manage only 10
percent of our nation's waste, and is successful only when participation in separation
and collection is high and market prices for secondary materials are favorable.
Siting of recycling facilities is also becoming more difficult. Finally, manufac-
turers of products have no direct incentive to design products for effective waste
management because they are not usually directly responsible for the ultimate costs of
waste management. Similarly, most consumers do not have a direct economic incentive
to throw away less, because they are not usually charged based on the amount they
throw away.
This report recommends using "integrated waste management" systems to solve
municipal solid waste generation and management problems at the local, regional, and
national levels. In this holistic approach, systems are designed so that some or all
of the four waste management options (source reduction, recycling, combustion and
landfills) are used as a complement to one another to safely and efficiently manage
municipal solid waste. The system is "custom designed" to meet local environmental,
economic and Institutional needs. A key element of integrated waste management is the
hierarchy, which favors source reduction (including reuse) to first decrease the
volume and toxicity and increase the useful life of products in order to reduce the
volume and toxicity of waste. Recycling (including composting) is the preferred waste
management option to further reduce potential risks to human health and the environ-
ment, divert waste from landfills and combustors, conserve energy, and slow the
depletion of nonrenewable natural resources. In implementing source reduction and
recycling, we must avoid shifting risks from one medium to another (e.g., groundwater
to air) or from one population to another. Landfills and combustors will be necessary
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for the foreseeable future to handle a significant portion of wastes, but are lower on
the hierarchy because of the potential risks to human health and the environment and
long-term management costs. This risk potential can be largely minimized through
proper design and management. Integrated waste management can and should be
implemented at a local level to the extent practical, and is a useful conceptual tool
for making management decisions. But, it is not meant to be rigidly applied when
local unique waste and demographic characteristics make source reduction and recycling
infeasible.
The integrated waste management system is the framework for the national goals
presented in this report. This report presents EPA's stated goal of managing, 25
percent of our nation's municipal solid waste through source reduction and recycling
by 1992. Composting of yard waste will play a key role in attaining this goal. While
no long-term numerical goals are established beyond 1992, the Agency anticipates that
the 25 percent level will be exceeded as capital recycling equipment comes on line.
This will be especially true in the paper industry, where planning today will be
essential to Increasing domestic paper recycling in the mid-1990's. In addition, we
must strive to reverse our ever-increasing per capita generation of garbage. We also
must work to reduce the risks associated with landfills and combustors, inasmuch as
these management alternatives will be necessary to handle most of the wastes. The
risks of recycling need to be examined to determine if risk reduction is also needed
for recycling. By implementing these goals, we can solve or reduce many of our
municipal waste management problems.
This report outlines EPA's program to address these goals. It also presents a
number of recommendations for state and local governments, industry, and consumers
that will enable us to meet these goals. Information, assistance, and data must be
made more accessible to everyone by generating catalogs of available materials,
establishing a national clearinghouse, developing a "peer matching" program to allow
all levels of government and waste management to exchange expertise, and developing
a national research agenda for collecting new information and developing new
technologies.
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Planning at all levels of government is recommended in the report. National and
regional planning conferences are needed to facilitate the exchange of information.
This report contains a list of elements that state and local municipal solid waste
management plans should include.
Source reduction should be fostered at the manufacturing, governmental, and local
levels. EPA will study options for reducing lead and cadmium in products in order to
reduce the risks of combustor emissions and ash, landfill leachate, and recycling
operations. EPA will foster workshops for manufacturers and educators to promote the
design of products and packaging for effective waste management. EPA will identify
economic, regulatory and possibly legislative incentives for decreasing the volume and
toxlclty of waste. EPA will also take steps to facilitate Federal procurement of
products with source reduction attributes. Industry should conduct waste audits, and
determine ways to decrease the volume and toxicity of materials used in manufacture.
Recommendations for recycling (including composting) call for fostering imple-
mentation of existing Federal procurement guidelines (as well as evaluating ones for
additional commodities), and creating an interagency working group to develop pilot
and full-scale projects for separating recyclables in Federal agencies. Markets for
secondary materials and recycled goods must be stimulated and stabilized; thus EPA
will conduct market development studies for different commodities, will examine
economic and regulatory incentives for using secondary or recycled materials, and will
foster the formation of regional marketing councils for the exchange of market
Information. A National Recycling Council will be formed with members from all
sectors of waste management to track recycling issues and problems and to recommend
actions. Finally, EPA will study how to foster recycling lead-acid batteries,
Including examining the current incentives and disincentives associated with
liability. Industry should step up its efforts in fostering the recycling of
plastics. State and local governments should encourage separation of recyclables,
conduct waste exchanges, and provide incentives for stable markets for recycled goods.
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Finally, recommendations for decreasing the risks from landfilling and combustion
include continuing EPA's ongoing efforts to develop air emission standards for new
combustors and landfills, air emission guidelines requiring state standards for
existing combustors and landfills, and revised minimum design and operation criteria
for landfills. EPA recommends that ash management plans be developed as part of any
plan for combustion of waste. EPA, in conjunction with trade associations, will
facilitate development of guidance on training and certification for combustor and
landfill operators. EPA will also study whether bans are necessary or desirable for
certain types of waste.
These recommendations present a core program for governmental, industrial and
citizen action which will help solve our nation's municipal waste management problems.
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INTRODUCTION
This report is about what the government calls municipal solid waste and almost
everybody else calls garbage. It's about bottles, cans, disposable diapers, uneaten
food, scraps of wood and metal, worn-out tires and used-up batteries, paper and
plastic packages, boxes, broken furniture and appliances, clippings from our lawns and
shrubs—the varied human refuse of our modern industrial society.
All of us generate solid waste every day—a total for the nation of about 160
million tons a year. And the garbage deluge is growing steadily; with our current
garbage practices, it could reach 193 million tons by the Year 2000. More than 40
percent of this solid waste stream consists of the paper and paper products we discard
in our homes, offices and factories.* Yard wastes make
, , „ ' j , f ° up another 18 percent of the total. The other major
pick it up, ana nobody
wants us to put it components are metals, glass, food waste, and plastics
own' (see Figure 1). Symptomatic of what social critics call
our "throwaway society" are the many disposable
products that are manufactured, imported, sold, used and thrown away; for example, we
discard 1.6 billion pens, 2 billion razors and blades, and 16 billion diapers every
year. "Convenience" packaging suited to our high-speed, increasingly busy life-
styles—TV dinners, fast-food containers, microwavable bags of popcorn, and the
like—make a substantial contribution to the flood of trash.
*In this report, the term "municipal solid waste" refers primarily to residential solid
waste, with some contribution from commercial, institutional and industrial sources. In
some areas, nonresidentlal wastes are managed separately, largely because industrial and
some commercial sources produce relatively uniform wastes in large quantities, which makes
them more suitable for alternative disposal techniques or recycling. Hazardous wastes, as
defined by Federal and State regulation, generally are managed outside the municipal solid
waste stream. Exceptions are household hazardous wastes and hazardous wastes generated in
very small quantities, which are often placed in the municipal solid waste stream by the
generator.
This report does not attempt to grapple with the issue of medical waste. This issue
Is the subject of a separate EPA Task Force.
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Paper and
paperboard - 41.0%
Glass
8.2%
Metals
8.7%
Plastics
6.5%
Food wastes
7.9%
Rubber, leather, textiles,
wood - 8.1%
Misc. inorganic
wastes - 1.6%
Yard wastes
17.9%
FIGURE B GROSS DISCARDS, BY WEIGHT, OF MSW MATERIALS, 1986
(Source: Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste
in the United States, 1960 to 2000; Franklin
Associates, 3/30/88)
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People who manage solid waste say that the First Law of Garbage is: "Everybody
wants us to pick it up, and nobody wants us to put it down." Many Americans want
their trash to disappear quickly and quietly from their backyards and curbs, never to
be seen or heard from again. And the last thing they want in their neighborhood is a
landfill, combustor or recycling center—all of which are associated in the public
mind with noxious odors, possibly dangerous pollution, and noisy traffic.
These two social forces—the throwaway mentality on the part of manufacturers and
many consumers and the NIMBY syndrome-have combined to create a serious and growing
solid waste problem In many American cities. As a nation, we are generating more
garbage all the time, and we don't know what to do with it. Ineffective or irrespon-
sible disposal of all this waste 'has the potential to degrade the environment and
cause risk to public health. We're running out of space
to bury it in existing landfills; more than one-third of
the nation's landfills will be full within the next two
to three years. Yet because of the NIMBY syndrome and
concerns over potential threats to human health and the
environment, many cities are unable to find enough
acceptable sites for new landfills. Siting new
combustors can be equally difficult; many people are concerned as to whether garbage
can be burned without producing dangerous air pollution and residues. The problem has
gotten to the point that some American cities are paying premium prices to have their
trash shipped to other counties, states, and even foreign countries.
'The annual U.S.
generation of 158 million
tons of municipal solid
waste would fill a convoy
of 10-ton garbage trucks,
145,000 miles long...
over half way from here
to the moon."
In response to this solid waste dilemma, many states, localities, and concerned
citizens have stepped up recycling activities and formed comprehensive waste manage-
ment programs. With their progressive programs, some localities are far ahead of any
Federal program for municipal solid waste, while other communities and states lag far
behind and may not even recognize or anticipate a problem. The private sector, in the
form of the waste management, secondary materials, and manufacturing industries, have
also recognized the benefits of recycling and have successfully implemented programs.
The Federal role for municipal waste management has ranged through the years from an
active nonregulatory role prior to 1980, to a less comprehensive, more regulatory role
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since 1980. In the past several years, EPA has proposed revised minimum standards for
designing and operating municipal landfills; issued procurement guidelines for some
recycled goods; issued a Report to Congress on air emissions from municipal waste
combustors; published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for regulating air
emissions from new and existing combustors; issued combustor guidance to new source
permitting authorities; developed a report on the efficacy of the current nonhazardous
waste regulations; recently initiated several bulletins and brochures to promote used
oil recycling; and conducted a toxicity study on municipal waste combustor ash. EPA
also is developing guidance for proper handling and disposal of combustor ash
residuals.
More recently, the Environmental Protection Agency created a Municipal Solid
Waste Task Force in February 1988 to specifically address the problem of increasing
waste generation and decreasing management capacity. The Task Force was given the
assignment of quickly assessing the size and scope of the solid waste problem,
examining alternatives for solving it, and developing a well-coordinated strategy of
action for improving the nation's management of municipal solid waste.
In an effort to make the strategy credible and practical, the Task Force
solicited comments from the public and interested groups and organizations. Seven
public meetings were held in May, September and October in Boston, Dallas, Seattle,
St. Paul (Minnesota), Washington (D.C.), Los Angeles and Atlanta. A 60-day public
comment period on the draft strategy was also provided. The Task Force also identi-
fied interested trade associations, environmental groups, and government organizations
and offered drafts of its analysis for their review during the development of the
draft strategy. These comments from the public contributed substantially to this
Agenda for Action.
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This report presents the Task Force's national action agenda.* There is no
single solution to this complex problem. A myriad of activities must be implemented,
both in the short and long term, by all of us in order to solve the current and future
problems with municipal solid waste. This report suggests a number of things that
government, business, industry and citizens can do to reduce the production of solid
waste and better manage the solid waste that is produced: manufacturing products with
consideration for their ultimate management as wastes; encouraging, producing and
buying products that are made from recycled or recyclable materials; separating
bottles, cans and paper and turning them in for recy-
cling; improving the safety and efficiency of landfills
and combustors; and wherever practical, choosing source
reduction and recycling over landfilling and combustion
as the preferred methods for managing municipal solid
waste. A mix of these options must be molded into an
integrated waste management system where each component
complements the others to safely and efficiently manage the waste. Local environ-
mental, economic and institutional needs will, of course, play an important role in
determining the mix at the local level. While this report acknowledges that the bulk
of waste will be managed through combustion and landfills, it emphasizes a significant
shift to source reduction and recycling. The report reiterates EPA's stated goal** of
diverting 25 percent of the nation's municipal solid waste from landfills and
combustors through source reduction and recycling by 1992. Much of this goal will be
met through increased recycling with a special emphasis on composting of yard waste.
But EPA believes that implementing source reduction, by not increasing our present per
capita generation of municipal solid waste, is vitally important. In the longer term,
"Each of us contributes
an average of 1,300
pounds a year to the
growing mountain
of garbage, and each of
us, if we're willing, can
cut back on the amount."
*Only the Task Force's recommendations are Included in this report; the data and
Information supporting the recommendations can be found in a supplemental document
entitled, "Background Document for The Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action, Draft
Report of the Municipal Solid Waste Task Force." (EPA #530-SW-88-054A) and "The Solid
Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action, Appendices A-B-C" (EPA 530-SW-88-054B).
**Thls goal was first stated by the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response, J. Winston Porter, in a speech at the Fourth Annual Conference on
Solid Waste Management and Materials Policy, on January 29, 1988.
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the Agency anticipates that the 25 percent goal will be exceeded as capital recycling
equipment comes on line. This will be especially true in the paper industry, where
planning today will be essential to increasing our domestic paper recycling capacity
in the mid-1990's. Another crucial long-term goal is to reduce the per capita
generation of municipal solid waste. Some proposals, such as government incentives to
encourage the production of long-lasting products that can be reused or recycled, will
be controversial; but the solid waste problem is serious, and controversy is not
sufficient reason to ignore workable solutions.
When Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
(RCRA), it recognized that state and local governments have primary responsibility
for municipal solid waste management, but it also gave EPA regulatory and assistance
responsibilities in this area. Many of the recommendations in this report were
developed with the recognition that strong national leadership is essential in finding
solutions to what has become a widespread national problem. National leadership means
not only establishing national goals and policies, but setting a good example by
purchasing recycled or recyclable products and by separating waste to facilitate
recycling or safe disposal.
Each of us contributes an average of 1,300 pounds a year to the growing mountain
of garbage, and each of us, if we're willing, can, at least, stop increasing the
amount of waste requiring disposal. In the longer term, we can reduce our per capita
generation of waste. Industry can also work toward reducing the volume and toxicity
of products and packaging that will ultimately require disposal. The report recom-
mends a number of educational and other programs to inform citizens and industry about
their responsibilities and opportunities to help stem the tide of solid waste.
It is important for all of us-government, business, and private citlzens-to
acknowledge that our country has a solid waste problem and to begin the difficult but
inescapable task of finding solutions. If we wait, the problem will only get worse.
If this report stimulates thought, discussion and action to help improve the
management of our nation's municipal solid waste, it will have accomplished its
purpose.
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SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
When local officials are asked to list the chief problems associated with
municipal solid waste, they usually cite the growing shortage of landfill capacity and
the high cost of managing waste. These two management problems are especially severe
in some American cities, where disposal costs have soared
to more than $100 per ton of waste because of long-
distance hauling and high landfill and combustor "tip"
fees. The international wanderings of the "garbage
barge", forlornly searching for a last resting place for
garbage from Islip, New York, graphically illustrated
the capacity shortages in populous communities. Some states and localities have
responded to this problem by enacting laws requiring mandatory recycling or dis-
couraging waste generation.
"In 1960, Americans
generated waste at a rate
of 2.65 pounds per person
per day; by 1986, that
figure had jumped to
3.58 pounds."
High costs and capacity shortages, however, are only symptoms of a more basic
problem: Most of America's citizens, officials and industry have yet to recognize
their responsibility for the growth in solid waste and for the problems caused by that
growth. In 1960, Americans generated waste at a rate of 2.65 pounds per person per
day; by 1986, that figure had jumped to 3.58 pounds, and the trend is projected to
continue into the Year 2000.2 Generation of every kind of waste is up, Including
paper, plastic, glass, and metals, as shown in Figure 2. An American generates
approximately one pound per day more waste than his/her counterpart in West Germany,
an equally industrialized nation.3 Much of the difference can be traced to the high
Frank J. Sudol and Alvin L. Zach, "Recycling in New Jersey: the Newark Experience,"
Resource Recycling, Volume VII, No. 2, May/June, 1988, p. 28.
2 Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the U.S. 1960-2000 (updated 1988), Franklin
Associates, March 30, 1988.
Allen Hershkowltz, Ph.D., "Garbage Burning-Lessons from Europe: Consensus and
Controversy In Four European States," Inform, 1986, p. 13.
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80-
70-
£ 50-
Q.
1 40-
LL
0 30-
V)
2
O
13 2.0-
d
10-
PAPER AND
PAPERBOARD
1970
1986
2000
YARD
WASTE
RUBBER,
LEATHER,
WOOD,
METALS PLASTICS TEXTILES
MIX.
INORGANICS
GROSS DISCARDS OF MATERIALS IN MSW*
*Ref: Characterization Of Municipal Solid Waste In The
United States, 1960 To 2000; Franklin Assoc, 3/30/88
(before material or energy recovery)
FIGURE 2
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level of product manufacture and consumption in this country and the need for con-
venience on the part of increasingly busy families. In general, American consumers
have no incentive to limit their waste generation, because they are not charged for
disposal according to the amount of waste they produce. Nor are there many incentives
for manufacturers to design their products and packaging in a way that takes into
account the effective management of those products when they are eventually discarded.
At the same time more waste is being generated, less processing and disposal
capacity Is available to handle it. One-third of the nation's landfills will be full
by 1991, which means that waste that is now disposed of in these facilities will have
to be disposed of elsewhere. Many existing facilities are closing either because they
are filled or because their design and operation do not meet Federal or state
standards for protection of human health and the environment. New facilities must be
built to replace this diminishing capacity but must be environmentally sound, preserve
valuable resources, and not present undue risk to human health. The Incentive to
build new, environmentally sound facilities and adopt better management practices may
not exist in some areas because of the current practice of ''waste flight," in which
waste is shipped by truck or rail across state and county lines to areas with avail-
able capacity. If not done concurrently with long-term planning to solve the capacity
problem for a region, the short-term solution of waste flight only delays the
inevitable management problem in the locality shipping the waste, and hastens
potential problems in the area that receives and disposes of the waste.
Efforts to site new landfills, combustors and recycling centers, however, are met
with mounting opposition. This opposition may stem from concerns about environmental
or health risks from contaminated ground and surface waters and soil, toxic ash from
municipal waste combustion, and air emissions; from resistance to such nuisance
factors as noise, smells, and truck traffic; and from anxiety over property values.
Because few governments have established effective dispute resolution mechanisms,
"siting impasses" result when local politicians are unwilling or unable to override
the objections of their constituents. These siting disputes illustrate the fact that
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few of us are eager to assume responsibility for either our neighbors' wastes or our
own.
Although recycling and reuse of waste materials are publicly acceptable methods
for managing municipal solid waste, the existing waste management infrastructure often
discourages effective recycling efforts. For example, a national policy supporting
the use of a waste management "hierarchy" has been in effect since 1976.4 Under the
hierarchy, source reduction and recycling are the preferred options for managing solid
waste. Combustion and landfilling are to be used only when the preferred options are
unavailable or insufficient. Overwhelmed by the burgeoning amounts of waste that must
be removed from the curb every day, many waste managers are unable to plan or
implement the hierarchy at the local level. As a result, 80 percent of the nation's
waste is landfilled; only 10 percent is recycled and 10 percent combusted. This
reliance on landfilling may stem from a desire for a single, "quick-fix" solution;
more recently, many public officials seem to be turning to mass-burn combustors as the
"silver-bullet" answer to their waste management problems. The temptation to build
a facility that can combust 2,000 tons of garbage a day may be difficult for a
hard-pressed waste manager to resist.
Why aren't many states and localities implementing the waste management hier-
archy? One reason is that local officials may consider recycling programs too costly.
They also may not consider recycling a reliable way to handle municipal solid waste
because success in recycling depends heavily on markets for secondary materials as
well as public participation levels, both of which can fluctuate widely. And,
information on the true costs of each waste management option mey not be available.
This brief description of the scope of the problem is by no means comprehensive.
It is meant to establish the basis for setting goals and actions for a national
strategy. Chapters 2 and 3 of the Background Document provide a more thorough
description of the problems involved in managing municipal solid waste.
4
Effective Hazardous Waste Management (Non-Radioactive); Position Statement, Federal
Register, Volume 41, No. 161, August 18, 1976.
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INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
The term "integrated waste management" refers to the complementary use of a
variety of waste management practices to safely and effectively handle the municipal
solid waste stream with the least adverse impact on human health and the environment.
An Integrated waste management system will contain some or all of the following
components:
o Source reduction (including reuse of products)
o Recycling of materials (including composting)
o Waste combustion (with energy recovery)
o Landfilling.
In integrated waste management, all the elements work together to form a complete
system for proper management of municipal waste. Waste stream constituents are
matched to the management practices that are best suited to those particular consti-
tuents, in order to reduce toxics, reduce quantity, and safely extract any useful
energy or material from the waste prior to final disposal.
Every community can "custom-design" its integrated waste management system to
emphasize certain management practices, consistent with the community's demography and
waste stream characteristics. For example, a community like Las Vegas, Nevada, where
landfill tipping fees as low as $6 per ton reflect the ready availability of land ,
may choose to continue to rely on landfilling as its primary waste management practice
after evaluating the feasibility of source reduction and recycling. Conversely, a
C. L. Pettlt, "The 1987 Tip Fee Survey - Last Year's Rise was the Biggest Ever,"
Waste Age, Vol. 19, No. 3, March 1988, p. 77.
- 16 -
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town such as East Lyme, Connecticut, where disposal costs exceed $100 per ton, finds
recycling an essential way 1o handle a major part of the waste stream.6
In an integrated waste management system, each
component is designed so it complements, rather than
competes with, the other components in the system. For
example, combustors should be designed to handle a volume
of waste with a certain Btu value after allowing for the
effect of recycling on total waste volume and Btu
values. Failure to do this can lead to a situation where materials which would
otherwise be recycled are not because they are needed as fuel for the combustor.
Every community can
"custom-design" its
integrated waste
management system to
suit its needs.
Hierarchy of Integrated Waste Management
To most effectively reduce our waste management problems at the national level,
states, municipalities, and the waste management industry should use the hierarchy
described below for evaluating the components of integrated waste management against
the community's needs. Of course, strict adherence to a rigid hierarchy is inappro-
priate for every community. Manhattan, Nevada will very likely choose a different mix
SOURCE
REDUCE,
"Transcript of the Public Meeting on Municipal Solid Waste," Bostc". Massachusetts,
May 9, 1988. RCRA Docket *F-88-MTFN-FFFFF, EPA, Office of Solid W..-,te, 401 M Street
S.W., Washington D.C. 20460
- 17 -
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of options than Manhattan, New York. But the integrated waste management hierarchy is
a useful conceptual tool for both communities to use in setting goals and planning for
their particular mix of waste management alternatives.
The hierarchy begins with source reduction and reuse to reduce both the toxic
constituents in products and the generation of large quantities of waste. Source
reduction, as defined in this report, may occur through the design and manufacture of
products and packaging with minimum toxic content, minimum volume of material, and/or
a longer useful life. Source reduction may also be practiced at the corporate or
household level through selective buying habits and reuse of products and materials.
Effective source reduction slows the depletion of environmental resources, prolongs
the life of available waste management capacity and can make combustion and land-
filling of wastes safer in the short and long term by removing toxic constituents.
Source reduction is not used by local waste handlers for managing the waste that is
picked up every day; rather, it cuts back on the amount and the toxicity of the waste
which Is handled. However, local government can encourage as well as practice source
reduction.
The second rung in the hierarchy is recycling of materials, including composting
of food and yard waste. Recycling is near the top of the hierarchy because it pre-
vents potentially useful materials from being combusted or landfilled, thereby
preserving waste disposal capacity. Recycling is a technology that can prevent
depletion of valuable landfill space, save energy and natural resources, provide
useful products from discarded materials, and even make a profit (especially when the
avoided costs of combustion or landfllling are taken into account). Thus, public
officials and waste handlers should give serious consideration to the practicality of
recycling and composting programs in their communities.
Although lower than source reduction and recycling in the hierarchy of desirable
waste management options, waste combustion is useful in reducing the bulk (although
not all) of municipal waste and can provide the added benefit of energy production.
Although combustion is not risk-free, a state-of-the-art combustor that is well
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operated should not present a significant risk to human health and the environment.
When recycling is part of a community's or a waste handler's chosen Integrated waste
-management system, combustion can complement recycling by reducing the bulk of the
nonrecyclable, nonreusable waste. Likewise, combustion can be made more efficient by
source reduction and removal of recyclables which are less conducive to combustion or
which could lead to potentially harmful stack emissions or operational problems caused
by heterogeneous waste mixtures. Residual ash is another problem associated with
combustors because of the sometimes high metals content and the need to manage it
properly.
Landfilllng also is lower in the hierarchy than source reduction, reuse and
recycling, but is essential to handle wastes such as nonrecyclable waste and the
noncombustibles such as demolition waste and construction debris. In addition,
landfills can provide the benefit of energy production through recovery of methane
gas. Landfills designated for handling combustion ash residuals are essential and, in
the absence of alternative ash management plans, must be planned and designed in
conjunction with the combustor. Landfills should also be used for materials that
cannot practicably be managed in any-other way. A well-constructed, properly operated
landfill should not present a significant health risk. As previously mentioned, some
communities and waste handlers, based on land availability and population charac-
teristics that make recycling impractical, may choose landfilling as their principal
method of managing municipal waste. For the foreseeable future, landfills will be
necessary to handle a significant portion of wastes, so steps must be taken to make
landfilling as safe as possible.
Who's Responsible?
We all are. Everyone has a role in making integrated waste management work.
Industry has a responsibility to consider source reduction, reuse and recyelability in
designing products and packaging, and to use secondary materials in their manufacture.
Citizens have a responsibility to learn about the products and packaging they buy and
the waste they create. What is in the product? What is recyclable? What is
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potentially harmful? How long will the product last? How much does it cost to
dispose of it? Every individual and corporate citizen should assume responsibility
for waste disposal and adopt a "pay-as-you-throw" attitude-a recognition of the
true costs of disposing of the wastes we generate.
Who's Responsible? Waste management companies, including processors
WEALLARE. , . ,. , , . , . ,
Everyonehasarolein and handlers of secondary materials, have a responsi-
making integrated waste bllity for planning and implementing integrated waste
manogemen war . management for their communities. They should work in
partnership with state and local public officials to
plan and Implement Integrated waste management and to educate the public. This
partnership can be an effective mechanism for managing municipal solid waste.
All levels of government, especially state, tribal and local, are ultimately
responsible for managing waste and planning the mix of management options that will
most effectively handle the waste stream. The Federal government should participate
In municipal solid waste management by establishing national goals and leadership,
developing education programs, providing technical assistance, and issuing regula-
tions. The Federal government also has a role in establishing a framework for state,
Tribal and local planning, setting minimum standards for facilities, and encouraging
the manufacturing industry to design products and packaging for effective waste
management, as well as to utilize secondary materials in manufacturing. Finally, all
levels of government should set a good example by purchasing recycled or recyclable
products and products that have been subject to source reduction whenever possible,
and handling their own wastes in a way that facilitates recycling and reuse.
Planning
Planning Is a vital component In achieving a national goal of integrated waste
management. Siting, designing, and building a landfill or combustion facility can
take many years. Similarly, collection and recycling programs may take several years
to develop to full scale. This delay is especially difficult for communities
- 20 -
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experiencing an immediate waste handling capacity shortage, but it also may affect
communities that face possible capacity problems in the future. Thus, states, Indian
Tribes and local communities should actively plan short- and long-term waste programs
based on current and projected characteristics of their waste streams.
Evaluating and implementing, where feasible, the integrated waste management
hierarchy at the local level helps solve the problems associated with waste
management. Minimizing toxicity and volume through source reduction, reuse and
recycling directly addresses the problem of capacity shortage and potential risks from
toxic constituents.
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NATIONAL GOALS
The problems associated with municipal solid waste management, Including cost
and capacity, are felt most directly and can best be handled at the local level
through Implementation of integrated waste management practices. These problems,
however, are also regional and national in scope. The widening gap between available
capacity and levels of waste generation demands national solutions and a long-term
commitment by all. We can no longer rely on landfills to handle 80 percent of the
nation's waste. The United States must find a safe and permanent way to eliminate the
gap between waste generation and available capacity in landfills, combustors, and
In secondary materials markets.
How can this goal be accomplished? We must take short-term actions now in order
to solve the problems of today and tomorrow. Above all, we must increase source
reduction and recycling activities while making all
management options reliable and safe. EPA believes that,
to the extent practical, source reduction and then
recycling are the preferred options for closing the gap
and reducing the amount and toxicity of waste that must
be landfilled or combusted. To foster implementation of
this preference for source reduction and recycling, EPA
set a national goal in January 1988 of 25 percent source
reduction and recycling (up from the current 10 percent) by 1992. Although recycling
(with special emphasis on composting of yard waste) will play the major role in
achieving this goal, source reduction is an important component. While no long term
numerical goal has been established, we anticipate that the 25 percent level will be
surpassed as capital recycling equipment comes on-line. This will be especially true
In the paper industry, where planning today will be essential to increasing domestic
paper recycling in the mid-1990's. Our nation must stop the increase in our per
The United States must
find a safe and permanent
way to eliminate the gap
between waste generation
and available capacity in
landfills, combustors,
and in secondary
materials markets.
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per capita generation rate. And, in the long run, we must also strive to reduce it.
Source reduction and recycling help prevent many of the problems associated with
municipal solid waste, including the pressing need to site new landfills and
combustors to handle the large volumes of waste being generated. Preventing
generation of wastes and diverting waste components from landfills and combustors into
reuse, -recycling- or composting .helps to-aHeviate-siting problems and potential risks
to human health and the environment attributable to improper management. Thus,
planning and implementing these activities now yields benefits in managing wastes in
the years to come. Reaching the 25 percent source reduction and recycling goal will
mean that the remainder will be handled by combustion and landfills. On-line and
already permitted, combustors are projected to handle about 20 percent of the waste
stream. The remainder (about 55 percent) is projected for landfills.
CURRENT SITUATION
GOAL FOR 1992
mr
LANOF1U-
5514
111 -w
INCINERATE 20fr
Mllll
RECYCLE 25%
1
- 23 -
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Even the most effective source reduction and recycling efforts, however, cannot
handle the total waste stream. Thus, EPA believes that all waste management practices
should be made safer. We will need landfills and combustors into the foreseeable
future to process and dispose of a significant portion of the waste stream. Improving
the safety of these disposal alternatives, as well as materials recovery and recycling
facilities, can help protect human health and the environment and can only help gain
public acceptance of all such facilities.
Objectives
The Task Force has identified six objectives for a national agenda for action to
solve the municipal solid waste dilemma. By fulfilling these objectives, we help
overcome many of the problems associated with municipal solid waste management,
Including siting problems, increased waste generation rates, concerns over human
health and the environment, and, perhaps, some of the high costs of waste management.
In addition, by carrying out these objectives—especially by increasing source
reduction, recycling, and effective planning—government, Industries, waste managers
and citizens will have helped fulfill the concept of integrated waste management and
will learn to look beyond the "single solution" to waste problems. The objectives
are:
1. Increase the waste planning and management information (both
technical and educational) available to states, local communities,
waste handlers, citizens, and industry, and increase data
collection for research and development.
2. Increase effective planning by waste handlers, local communities,
and states.
3. Increase source reduction activities by the manufacturing industry,
government and citizens.
4. Increase recycling by government and by individual and corporate
citizens.
5. Reduce risks from municipal solid waste combustion in order to
protect human health and the environment.
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6. Reduce risks from landfills in order to protect human health and
the environment.
The following Agenda for Action is structured within the framework of these six
objectives. Each objective is briefly described, and roles for government (Federal,
state, tribe and local), industry and citizens are summarized. A table of next steps
follows each objective, for easy reference by the reader.
The Task Force received many suggestions on potential actions, and studied a
number of different options. The following action items are culled from the larger
array of options, and constitute a minimum program for meeting the above-stated goals.
Most of these actions received broad-based support from public commentors. Elements
that were noted by commentors as being especially important are a national clearing-
house for information dissemination, Federal procurement guidelines for recycled
goods, market development studies.for recycling, design and operation standards for
landfills, and air emission and operator certification standards for combustors.
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AN AGENDA FOR ACTION
To most effectively reach the goal outlined above, the Task Force's recommended
actions focus on reducing large-volume contributors to the waste stream. For example,
paper and yard wastes are targeted for special action because they contribute nearly
60 percent of the waste stream. While EPA has targeted paper and yard wastes for
special consideration, the Agency realizes the importance of addressing other wastes
to reduce toxlcity, and to pursue opportunities for recycling. In addition,
"orphan" wastes such as tires and batteries are highlighted because they are not now
managed In any cohesive way, and can present environmental and health problems and
management headaches.
I. OBJECTIVE: INCREASE AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Technical assistance, education, and research and development are important ways
to encourage Informed participation in achieving waste management goals. These goals
may be the national goals, as described above, or they may be the basis for state,
tribal or local integrated waste management programs. Educational materials Increase
awareness of good waste management "ethics" while technical assistance ensures that
all types of waste handlers (individuals, government, industry) have all the infor-
mation that they need to manage wastes safely and effectively. Data collection and
research and development expand the boundaries of our knowledge, giving us new
Information, new technologies and new solutions.
Through participation in every level of effective waste management, citizens and
the manufacturing industry must take responsibility for the waste they generate. The
way to enhance participation is through development and efficient delivery of edu-
cational and technical guidance for all audiences. This section describes development
of technical and educational guidance, data collection and research and development
programs, and delivery systems such as a national clearinghouse and a "peer
- 26 -
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matching" program that matches experts in waste management to communities in need of
help.
Develop Materials on General Topics and Specific Technical Areas
-Technical Guidance Documents-
Guidance and materials on the technical aspects of source reduction, combustion,
recycling, landfilling, composting, and collection are important for increasing the
quality of waste management by everyone. These materials
provide the "how-to" for the consumer, industry, the
government, and the waste handler to effectively reduce
waste generation, and prevent management and environ-
mental problems.
Educational materials
provide a way to change
"business as usual" in
our society by giving
people the necessary
background information to
determine "good" and
"bad" waste management.
The technical materials should address at least
these areas:
o
o
What factors decision makers should consider in choosing among waste
management options.
How each community can compare the risks of each management alternative in
order to assist in siting decisions.
How state and local governments can communicate risks for municipal solid
waste management alternatives to the public.
How to determine the true costs of waste management, and how to calculate
the management costs avoided through choosing one waste management
alternative over another.
How citizens and businesses can implement source reduction through their
consumption habits (e.g.,ways to reduce paper consumption through
double-side copying).
How to set up a community recycling program.
How homeowners can effectively backyard compost their yard wastes, and can
use backyard or commercial compost in landscaping, building, or gardening.
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o How to create Incentives for and overcome barriers to successful source
reduction and recycling programs.
o What to look for in designing and operating combustion facilities, including
waste-to-energy methods, and landfills.
o How to market secondary materials and energy generated by waste-to-energy
plants and methane from landfills.
o How to market compost, and ensure quality compost products.
o What terms like "recycled" and "recyclable" mean (what the minimum
amount of secondary materials is for a product to be called "recycled").
o How to insure that goods labeled as "recycled" or "recyclable" are
genuine.
o How to collect and process tires, including a processing method for making
refuse-derived fuel from tires and guidance on marketing this fuel,
management of tires in landfills, management of tire piles, and recycling of
tires.
o How to handle lead-acid batteries, including guidance on proper design and
operation of collection and processing facilities and metal-recovery
operations.
o How to manage and reduce household hazardous waste, including paints,
cleaners, solvents, used oil, etc.
o How blomedical wastes should be handled and treated.
o Whether labeling such as "recycled," "recyclable," and "designed for
safe disposal in an combustor or landfill" is effective and feasible.
(Such labeling is believed by many to be useful in raising public con-
sciousness. But, concerns over issues such as the need for Federal over-
sight, defining these terms, and "truth in advertising" problems must be
studied.)
Work on some of these materials is already underway by EPA, state and local
governments, the waste handling industry, trade associations and public interest
groups. For example, EPA is working on communication tools for state and local
governments to use in siting facilities. This list of materials is a sample of what
could and should be done, but it is by no means exhaustive. EPA will evaluate what is
available and what is needed for technical materials.
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-Educational Materials-
Educational materials provide a way to change "business as usual" in our
society by giving people the necessary background information to determine "good"
and "bad" waste management. The target audience for these materials is varied,
including waste-generators {households, businesses, and industry), waste planners, and
waste managers. It is as imperative to inculcate the ethics of integrated waste
management into the public works official as it is the homeowner.
Many excellent educational materials have already been developed by some states,
localities, public interest groups, and trade associations. A comprehensive educa-
tional program should, at a minimum, address the following areas and audiences:
o Pamphlets and brochures for the general public, describing the components
and concepts of Integrated waste management, the risks and costs associated
with various management options, and questions that citizens should ask
about the wastes they generate and waste management in their communities.
Brochures should also emphasize questions citizens should ask themselves
about the waste they generate and should encourage citizens to conduct waste
audits on their household wastes.
o Curricula for school children and teenagers that not only explain different
waste management methods and issues, but also incorporate municipal waste
issues into a variety of subject areas (e.g., arithmetic problems) in order
to raise general consciousness. Such educational materials could also
include coloring books, videos, and field trips.
o Materials and forums to inform the design and manufacturing industries of
the importance of source reduction and the design of products and packaging
with an eye toward the eventual safe disposal or recycling of the waste.
o Materials to encourage participation in recycling. Collection and separa-
tion methods for glass, metals, paper and plastics, by both households and
businesses, would be stressed. Other materials could include pamphlets
explaining the cost savings associated with recycling process and scrap
wastes in industry. Materials could also include bumper stickers, posters,
and billboards.
o Informational pamphlets explaining the true costs of waste management.
These would be used by waste handlers, local governments and citizens for
making more informed decisions.
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EPA will collect existing materials and foster development materials necessary to
fill the gaps In general educational materials.
Data Collection and Research and Development
Adequate and accurate data are vital underpinnings to any municipal solid waste
program. We cannot evaluate the progress in meeting national or local goals without
data. Adequate data allows us to make informed decisions and prevent undue risks from
waste management. Important data gaps that must be filled in include characterization
of the waste stream and waste management practices. A comprehensive research and
development program is necessary to continue upgrading the quality of waste management
practices. Industry and all levels of government must forge a partnership for con-
ducting research and development In all areas of municipal waste management. Industry
especially can assume a leadership role in the areas of source reduction and recycling
technologies by finding substitutes for toxic materials in products, reducing the
volume of material in products, and increasing recycling practices and technologies.
•Characterize the Waste Stream and Waste Management Practices-
The Federal and state governments should gather summary data generated by the
public and private sectors on waste characteristics and management practices. This
data should be used to trace national trends' and facilitate short- and long-term
planning. All levels of government should institute databases for tracking volumes
and types of wastes in order to facilitate planning at the state and local level.
This characterization should study individual constituents in the municipal solid
waste stream to determine progress in source reduction and recycling and targets for
significant volume and risk reduction.
-Research and Development-
Research and development is needed in technical areas related to combustion (ash
and air emissions), landfilling, recycling technologies, designing for effective waste
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management (e.g., reducing toxics, increasing recyclability and durability) and source
reduction. More work is also necessary to further characterize the risks associated
with various waste management options. This includes characterizing this effects on
global climate.
EPA is developing a national agenda for research and development necessary to
augment what is currently underway. EPA will coordinate its initiative closely with
those of private industry, states and academia. In cooperation with these groups, EPA
will generate a national research agenda providing for coordinated studies in various
areas such as the assessment of emerging commercial technologies, appropriate
municipal waste combustor operating conditions and air emissions control technology,
appropriate management of combustor residuals, improved landfill design and operation,
improved siting and monitoring methods, improved recycling techniques, and
identification of substitute materials for toxics in products. In addition, EPA will
continue to involve other parties in its research efforts.
Establish Systems to Disseminate Information and Assistance
Some states, trade
associations, and public
interest groups have
taken the initiative to
form state or regional
"libraries" or
telephone "hotlines" on
a variety of waste
management subjects.
Although many excellent educational and technical
materials, expertise, and data exist, systems for sharing
these materials, data and expertise are sadly lacking.
Some states, trade associations, and public interest
groups have taken the initiative to form state or
regional "libraries" or telephone "hotlines" on a
variety of waste management subjects. However, a
systematic, nationwide information-sharing mechanism for all waste management subjects
and audiences does not currently exist. This lack of a nationwide system results in
relatively few people accessing the technical and informational materials that they
need. Another result is duplication of effort by organizations developing materials
that, unknown to them, already exist.
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'National Clearinghouse-
A national clearinghouse will provide the mechanism for citizens, government and
other organizations to request and receive materials on any subject related to
municipal waste. The clearinghouse will act as a distribution center for materials,
and may develop some ..of these .materials. Materials for distribution by the clearing-
house would include those educational and technical guidances and results of research
and development mentioned earlier under this Objective, bibliographies of available
literature In different subject areas, and materials developed by the Federal govern-
ment, states, municipalities, public interest groups, trade associations, and
Industry.
EPA, in partnership with another entity such as a university, public interest
group, or trade association, will partially fund the clearinghouse, at the outset, but
the clearinghouse should become nearly self-sustaining. EPA could fund the
clearinghouse through a variety of mechanisms Including seed money to a university, a
public Interest group, governmental associations or other nonprofit organizations.
EPA's Office of Research and Development, or the Agency's RCRA Hotline could also be
Instrumental In running a clearinghouse. EPA is looking at funding from existing
resources.
-"Peer Matching" Program-
As part of the clearinghouse concept, a ''peer matching" program would match the
expertise available in local communities, trade groups, states, Indian Tribes, EPA
regional offices, or universities to waste managers in other communities in need of
assistance. Such a program would effectively use existing resources to better manage
municipal solid waste. For example, a community wishing to design and implement a
curbslde collection program for recyclable materials could use the peer matching
program to tap into the expertise of a community with a similar program. The program
would function as a "database" of people and experience to match the needs of
communities seeking assistance.
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-Other Information-sharing Mechanlsms-
In addition to the large-scale programs outlined above, many mechanisms for
delivering information on waste management may be useful at the national, regional,
state, tribal and local level. These smaller systems focus on particular audiences, a
certain subject area, or a certain message, and include the following:
o Accessing existing organizations and their networks of constituents, such as
Keep America Beautiful, the Governmental Refuse Collection and Disposal
Association, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities,
and many more
o Magazine and newspaper articles, radio and television shows and adver-
tisements to raise awareness of waste management and responsibilities
o Itemized tax bills, quarterly reports, or "garbage bills" to educate the
waste generator on costs of waste management
o Public meetings and hearings on waste management issues
o Labeling of products by industry as to proper disposal methods.
EPA has worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to generate a national
advertisement campaign on recycling.
Summary of Participants in Increasing Available Information
Technical and educational materials and data collection methods should be
developed by EPA, states, Tribes, municipalities, public interest organizations, all
industry (waste management, design and manufacturing, secondary materials) and trade
associations. All parties have expertise in a range of waste management areas and
should contribute to developing needed materials. EPA will tap into existing
materials, where possible and develop materials through in-house expertise and/or
grants to other organizations and universities. For example, in developing a model
methodology to calculate both the true costs of waste management methods and the costs
avoided by choosing one method over another, EPA can take advantage of methodologies
already developed by various groups, and compile them into a general model with an
- 33 -
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accompanying sensitivity analysis to indicate the most important components of the
cost equations. EPA will formulate a research and development agenda, using input
from outside parties.
For Information-sharing mechanisms, as mentioned previously, EPA will plan and
provide seed money for the national clearinghouse and peer matching program in order
to assure national distribution and accessibility. State, tribal and local govern-
ments, being closer to the generator of waste, are often in the best position to
target messages and audiences for educational materials. Incorporating public
education programs into the state, tribal and local planning process, especially
materials and forums related to siting any new municipal
solid waste management facility, allows for consistent
and comprehensive programs. State, tribal and local
governments should also incorporate materials related to
solid waste issues and management into the public and
private school curricula, and pass on to the waste
generators the cost of waste management in the community.
Some local governments have imposed waste management "user charges" on households
and businesses based on the amount of garbage generated. These "pay as you throw"
policies can show the citizens, in very concrete terms, the cost of their garbage
production. EPA needs to do more research on the effect of user charges on illegal
dumping and littering. Finally, if people in the community are concerned about
emissions or nuisance factors from nearby facilities, local officials should keep them
apprised of monitoring results or other actions through regular bulletins, the
newspaper, or other media.
Some local governments
have imposed waste
management "user
charges," levied on
households and businesses
based on the amount of
garbage generated....
"pay as you throw."
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TABLE 1.
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO INCREASE INFORMATION
Develop Educational Materials
Begin compiling available materials NOVEMBER 1988
Catalog/bibliography of available materials MAY 1989
Identify educational materials needed JULY 1989
Review cost methodologies for true cost accounting AUGUST 1989
Develop Technical Materials
Review and summarize state tire management programs JANUARY 1990
Begin compiling available materials NOVEMBER 1988
Identify technical materials needed JULY 1989
Publish decision-makers guide for local waste managers .... SEPTEMBER 1989
Collect Data and Establish Research and Development Agenda
National research conference FEBRUARY 1989
Establish a Clearinghouse
Establish functions for a clearinghouse JANUARY 1989
Clearinghouse operational DECEMBER 1989
Establish a Peer Matching Program
Program operational JULY 1989
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II. OBJECTIVE: INCREASE PLANNING
Planning by any level of government and the waste management industry is vital for
managing all municipal solid waste in a safe and effective way. Planning ensures that
future capacity needs are taken into account when establishing programs. Planning also
ensures that orphan wastes such as tires and lead-acid batteries are handled
comprehensively, rather than with the current piecemeal approach.
Develop State and Local Strategies for Integrated Waste Management
-StofeSfrofegies-
State strategies for managing municipal solid waste are important in addressing
the current problems faced by communities within the state, and in forecasting and
preventing future problems. State strategies force
governments to look beyond the single solution to today's
problem to a comprehensive waste management plan that
will head off or respond to future problems. Indian
Tribes, which manage their municipal solid waste
independently from the states, must also generate
comprehensive strategies for managing solid waste.
State strategies force
governments to look
beyond the singular
solution of today's
problem to a
comprehensive waste
management plan...
States and tribes should plan for overall integrated solid waste management.
This planning should be done by collecting and evaluating local plans, setting
statewide goals for waste handling, and developing policies or legislative initiatives
that help the state attain these goals. Indian Tribes should generate plans for
Individual reservations by seeking assistance from Tribal associations, states, or the
Federal government. In planning, states and tribes should work with waste management
and secondary materials industries to access existing networks for collection and
marketing of waste and recyclable materials.
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State and tribal integrated waste management strategies should contain at least
the following components:
o Goals for source reduction and recycling of materials
o Materials and markets that will be targets for source reduction and
recycling
o Market development plans for secondary materials, including intermediate
markets (brokers, scrap dealers and processors), final markets (manu-
facturers) , and use of existing networks of secondary materials dealers
o Composting plans, including collection, processing (backyard, municipal and
commercial) and marketing methods of yard waste.
o Short and long-term capacity assurance
o Calculations for properly sizing combustion facilities, after accounting for
waste diverted through recycling
o Land-use planning for siting new facilities
o Dispute resolution methods to prevent stalemates in siting any type of waste
management facility
o Plans for collecting and managing "orphan" wastes such as tires and
lead-acid batteries
o Education and technical assistance programs, including education on true-
cost accounting and cost avoidance, and risk assessment methodologies
o Methods for communicating to the public the results and methods of assessing
risks of waste management alternatives
o Methods for ensuring public participation in decision making and planning
o Enforcement programs for design and operation of waste handling facilities
o Examination of state government procurement policies to promote recycling
and source reduction, and separation of recyclable goods
o Investigation of regional solutions on a multistate basis, as well as an
intrastate basis
o Plan for segregating, treating, transporting and disposing of medical waste
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State planning conferences and regional workshops to provide a forum for states
to share their expertise, programs, and problems will encourage states to plan.
Some conferences and workshops will be sponsored by private organizations. Others
will be sponsored by EPA. For example, the Association of State and Territorial Solid
Waste Management Officials (ASTSWAMO) will sponsor a conference in July of 1989;
EPA will sponsor several regional workshops in 1989. In addition, EPA regional
offices will review strategies voluntarily submitted by states and tribes and offer
technical assistance upon request. Review of state strategies will help EPA develop
technical guidances and areas for peer matching.
•Local Planning-
Planning should be done at the local level as well, by:
o Characterizing the waste stream
o Setting municipal goals for recycling and source reduction
o Evaluating local markets
o Identifying incentives and disincentives for local integrated waste
management
o Planning for "orphan" wastes
o Implementing true-cost accounting.
Plans should indicate the roles of the public and the private sector in
Implementing waste handling and other programs.
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TABLE 2.
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO ENCOURAGE INCREASED PLANNING
Develop State Strategies
First regional workshop
APRIL
EPA reviews selected state plans to provide
Technical Assistance Program ........ ."'. . . . . . AUGUST
1989
1989
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By slowing the rate at
which products are
discarded, waste handling
and disposal capacity can
be extended.
III. OBJECTIVE: INCREASE SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIVITIES
Source reduction, that is, minimizing toxics and volume in products and extending
their useful life, is a key component for meeting national and local goals. Removal
of toxics enhances the safety of recycling, landfilling, and combustion. Lead and
cadmium are examples of known toxicants, present in variable quantities in many common
products. Both lead and cadmium have been found in high concentrations in municipal
waste combustor ash and leachate from municipal solid waste landfills. Volume
reduction helps to eke out remaining capacity, thereby easing the "crisis" situation
and allowing time for long-term planning. Although there
are many players in source reduction, the design and
manufacturing industry can provide a leadership role in
instigating change and increasing source reduction
activities. In addition, the Federal government can
provide consistency through regulation or other national
Initiatives. Important source reduction activities include minimizing toxics, mini-
mizing volume, increasing procurement of source-reduced goods and investigating
ongoing source reduction activities.
Minimize Toxic Constituents and Materials in Municipal Solid Waste
Minimizing the amount of toxic constituents that enter the municipal solid waste
stream is important in making every waste handling and management alternative safer.
As discussed previously, minimizing toxic materials, such as lead and cadmium, can
reduce metals in combustion ash residues, decrease the pollution potential of landfill
leachate and combustor stack emissions, and increase the safety of recycling waste
materials. Risk assessments are necessary, however, to determine if reducing risks at
the disposal point in a product's lifecycle causes increased risks from the product at
other points In its lifecycle, for example, during manufacture.
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Products should not contain lead and cadmium when less toxic materials can be
feasibly substituted. Lead and cadmium, although not the only toxic elements or
compounds found in municipal waste, are good first candidates for examining the
feasibility of substitution because high concentrations of both metals are found in
combustor ash. Considerations for substitution include: the extent to which the
metal is at a level or in a form that could lead to significant release upon disposal,
technical feasibility, impact on product performance or cost,, and financial burden to
industry and the consumer. Industry should evaluate whether lead and cadmium can be
feasibly replaced, while EPA will study the sources of lead and cadmium and determine
regulatory and nonregulatory options.
Constituents other than lead and cadmium should be studied for their potential to
release when disposed. These constituents could include those that have been found in
municipal solid waste landfill leachate or air emissions, or combustor stack emissions
and may include other metals and inorganic compounds, and organics. For example,
source reduction policies applied to household hazardous waste can help decrease the
toxicity of this waste, as well as minimize the volume.
Where substitution of less toxic materials would be burdensome, Industry should
test products for their release and/or exposure when disposed of or recycled.
Labeling those products that have been tested for disposal characteristics would be
useful in informing the consumer and the waste handler how those products are best
handled, recycled, or disposed.
Reversing the Increase in Per Capita Generation of Municipal Solid
Waste Discards
-Manufacture of Products-
Minimizing the volume of products which are discarded into municipal solid waste
will help reduce the per capita increase in waste generation, thereby changing
"business as usual" in our society's garbage habits. In the long term, our nation
must strive to decrease our current per capita generation rate of 3.5 pounds per day,
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which Is the highest In the world. In the short term, we have established a more
modest, but achievable goal of stopping the Increase In our per capita generation
rate. If our per capita generation rate In the year 2000 were 3.5 pounds per day
rather than the projected 3.94 pounds per day,* our total gross discards would be 171
million tons, rather than the projected 193 million tons. A decrease to 3.0 pounds
per day would bring us below 150 million tons. In many instances, products, con-
tainers, and packaging should be made with less material. In other instances, the use
of more material may be needed to facilitate reuse, thereby extending useful life.
Thus, In developing products, manufacturers should consider the amount of waste
generated In the disposal of their products and packaging, and should look for ways to
reduce those wastes.
By slowing the rate at which products are discarded, waste handling and disposal
capacity can be extended. Slowing the rate of generation of discards can be done by
using products with longer useful lives, or that are reusable, repairable or can be
remanufactured. For example, if the average consumer throws away only 16 tires in
his/her lifetime instead of 32, then the amount of tires in the landfill, combustor,
or tire pile is decreased by a factor of two. With approximately 220 million tires
being discarded every year and 2 to 3 billion tires already stockpiled In potentially
harmful monstrous heaps, this reduction in waste generation could have a tremendous
Impact. In designing products, manufacturers should consider whether the products,
containers, and packages have longer lives, are reusable, or can be composted, in
order to reduce the amount of waste that is generated. Similarly, consumers should be
mindful of these considerations in purchasing products.
States have shown interest in economic incentives, including taxes, tax credits,
and charges, and regulatory approaches to promote source reduction activities such as
minimizing toxicity and volume of municipal solid waste. Although federal economic
Incentives and regulatory approaches may be useful in the future, EPA is not
•Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste in the United STates, 1960-2000. Franklin
Associates, Ltd., 1988.
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recommending their adoption at this time. Rather, EPA believes that these potentially
useful tools require further assessment. For example, the Agency will assess the
efficiency of state and local charges and taxes in reducing both the volume and
toxicity of the waste. These charges, either fixed or variable, can be assessed at
any transaction point from the manufacture of raw virgin materials through final
disposal. There are a number of factors influencing the efficacy of a charge program
that EPA will examine, including the ability of industry and the public to respond to
the fees, the ease of assessing and collecting the charges, and the extent to which
such charges change behavior. The study also will examine the use of economic
incentives to promote source reduction.
To spur corporate involvement, a corporate recognition program is planned for
companies and industries that have succeeded in reducing the volume and/or toxicity of
materials used in their products. In addition, meetings between the chief executive
officers of corporations and EPA senior officials will be conducted in order to edu-
cate corporate policy makers to source reduction, recycling and other waste management
issues.
Organizing "Design for Source Reduction" workshops with design and packaging
engineers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors and EPA will help
build consideration of the waste management characteristics of their product into the
corporate design and manufacturing process. Many factors are considered in design and
manufacturing products; the Agency simply wants the waste management characteristics
to be a part of that consideration.
-Waste Audits- .
Businesses should conduct source reduction audits to find ways in which
operations could be altered to generate less or to reuse wastes, including any
nonhazardous solid process wastes that are entering the municipal solid waste stream.
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For example, audits could suggest ways to reduce or reuse office and computer paper,
to compost yard wastes generated by landscaping and construction companies, and reuse
or recycle any process trimmings (e.g., leather, rubber, plastic, paper, wood) that
are handled in the municipal solid waste stream. These commercial wastes often
constitute a significant portion of the municipal waste stream. Therefore, localities
should target these wastes and encourage industry to divert them, where practical,
through source reduction and reuse.
-Backyard Composting-
Backyard composting can be a significant source reduction technique by reducing
the amount of waste that must be collected and managed. (Compostable waste that must
be managed by a waste handler or recycler in a central composting facility can be
considered a form of recycling, whereas backyard composting can be considered reuse of
a material and therefore a type of source reduction activity. The distinction is
rather arbitrary, and thus is only for the purpose of discussion.) Public educa-
tional materials, school presentations, and workshops can encourage backyard com-
posting of food and yard wastes by the homeowner. In addition, banning yard waste
from landfills and combustors may provide a local incentive for composting.
Increase Procurement of Products and Packages with Source Reduction
Attributes
By purchasing products that have source reduction attributes (less toxic
materials, less volume of material per unit product, longer useful life), corporations
and government can provide a leadership role for source reduction. Procurement helps
to stimulate awareness of markets for these goods, which may provide incentives to
Industry to increase manufacture of these products and to phase out products that do
not meet these specifications for source reduction.
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Investigate Potential and Ongoing Source Reduction Policies
and Activities
Because source reduction is a relatively new and difficult practice for municipal
solid waste,* source reduction policies must be fully evaluated to determine their
efficacy and impacts. For example, a study could be done of the actual reduction of
waste in a household when purchasing habits are altered in favor of products designed
for source reduction. Or, a pilot source reduction audit program for businesses could
measure the results of source reduction efforts on the waste generated. Other areas
of interest include:
o The use of photodegradable (degraded by sunlight) and biodegradable pro-
ducts and their impact on the environment and whether they are successful in
alleviating solid waste and litter problems
o A database of source reduction related activities, including educational and
legislative initiatives occurring in the United States and abroad (also
examining the reasons these activities were undertaken and their degree of
success)
o The effectiveness of programs that use fees to create incentives for
households and businesses to reduce the quantity of waste they produce
(including the effects on illegal dumping).
Summary of Participants in Increasing Source Reduction Activities
Obviously the most important participants in increasing source reduction
activities are the manufacturing and design industries. They can assume a corporate
leadership role in the United States to produce products that have less toxicity,
generate less waste, have longer useful life spans, are reusable, repairable, or have
other qualities that enhance waste management. In addition, trade associations should
hold conferences and workshops for member companies focusing on design for effective
waste management.
"Some progress has been made in "waste minimization" or "source reduction" of
industrial process waste (both hazardous and nonhazardous waste). Source reduction for
municipal solid waste will build on those efforts.
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Federal action to require removal of known toxic constituents from products may
be necessary. In addition, Federal action may be necessary to ensure that manu-
facturers test these products, including household hazardous waste, and materials for
their potential to release toxic constituents when landfilled, combusted, or recycled.
EPA will evaluate the use of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as well as
Investigate broader legislative mandates for authority for these requirements. In
addition, EPA will continue to sponsor an annual national household hazardous waste
conference to promote source reduction and proper collection and handling of these
wastes.
EPA will work with the Department of Commerce and other agencies to investigate
methods for stimulating industry to produce products with source reduction attributes.
For example, a corporate recognition program which would spotlight manufacturers,
businesses, and industries which engage in source reduction activities (e.g., mini-
mizing waste volume and toxics generated) will be examined. In addition, EPA will
sponsor studies on current state programs aimed at source reduction. As part of EPA's
report to Congress on plastics, EPA will address the benefits and concerns associated
with degradable plastics, and will seek to resolve the many questions about their
efficacy in solving solid waste management problems.
Industry, all governments (Federal, state, and local) and the public should
purchase products that minimize waste, are less toxic, last longer, or can be repaired
or remanufactured. In the Federal government, EPA will be exploring, with the General
Services Administration and other Federal Agencies, appropriate mechanisms to
accomplish this goal.
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TABLE 3.
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO ENCOURAGE INCREASED
SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIVITIES
Minimize Toxic Constituents and Materials in Waste
Determine which products, if any, are
sources of lead and cadmium JANUARY 1989
Screen for potential substitutes for lead and cadmium .... AUGUST 1989
Evaluate regulatory and non-regulatory options for
restriction on, or substitution for lead and cadmium
in products NOVEMBER 1989
Initiate investigation of other toxic constituents
in products . . . . DECEMBER 1989
Evaluate need for Federal testing guidelines NOVEMBER 1989
Minimize the Amount of Waste Generated
Study on economic incentives DECEMBER 1989
Establish corporate recognition program SEPTEMBER 1989
Design for source reduction workshops JULY 1989
Increase Procurement of Products With Source Reduction Attributes
Form Federal Task Group to study procurement
(same group as for procurement of recycled products) .... NOVEMBER 1989
Study of possible changes in procurement policies JUNE 1990
Study Ongoing or Potential Source Reduction Policies
Degradable Plastic Study by General Accounting Office .... SEPTEMBER 1988
Initiate database for tracking state source
reduction programs . . . JUNE 1989
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TABLE 3. (Continued)
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO ENCOURAGE INCREASED
SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIVITIES
EPA Report to Congress on Plastics JUNE 1989
Initiate user fee study NOVEMBER 1989
Household Hazardous Waste Conference NOVEMBER 1989
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One of the many
impediments to more
recycling is the wide
fluctuation of market
availability for many
secondary materials.
IV. OBJECTIVE: INCREASE RECYCLING
Recycling waste materials diverts potentially large volumes of wastes from
landfills and combustors. Thus, recycling is absolutely vital to achieving local and
national goals. Recycling is also important because it
stops unnecessary depletion of valuable natural
resources. Finally, recycling is an excellent educa-
tional tool to raise awareness in individuals of all
types of waste management, because everyone must become
conscious of what they do and do not discard. In order
to increase recycling, markets must be available, more
recyclables need to be separated, collected and marketed, a National Recycling Council
should be formed, incentives and disincentives for safe recycling should be examined,
and waste exchanges should be promoted. Of course, it is essential that, in the
development of recycling programs, risks to human health and the environment are
minimized from the recycling.
Stimulate Markets for Secondary Materials
One of the major impediments to more recycling is the wide fluctuation of market
availability for many secondary materials. We need to stabilize both markets and
supply so that they complement one another. Because recycling is often driven by
demand, we need to stimulate the demand for these secondary materials to help avoid
gluts in the marketplace and to coax change in our current industrial infrastructure.
A variety of actions may result in market growth. These include the promotion of the
procurement of recycled goods; market development studies for numerous commodities;
nonprofit regional market information councils; procurement guidelines for recycled
products; better separation and collection of plastics and lead-acid batteries; a
National Recycling Council; studying liability disincentives and incentives; and waste
exchanges.
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•Establish Incentives-
States, Including economic development agencies, have shown interest in tax
credits and loans for industries using or processing secondary materials, or
purchasing recycled goods as incentives for increasing these practices, thereby
stimulating and. stabilizing markets. Incentives must be targeted carefully to have a
real impact. State and local incentives could include tax credits (including property
taxes) and other fees in order to encourage existing industries to use secondary
materials in the manufacture of products, or to lure secondary materials industries to
communities that lack markets for their collected recyclables. Similar tax incentives
could be used for industries and businesses that purchase recycled goods, as these
companies are promoting stable final markets. Other incentives include low-interest
loans for construction or expansion of secondary materials industries, and for busi-
nesses that purchase recycled goods. These economic incentives may be Instrumental in
changing individual and corporate behavior and will be included in the study on
economic Incentives noted earlier in the section on source reduction.
Each level of government should seek to identify and delineate economic
disincentives to processing or purchasing secondary materials. Although many
comprehensive analyses were done in the 1970's, tax laws and the economy have changed
In the intervening years, creating a need to update our information.
Freight rates and other transportation issues are often cited as significant
disincentives to procuring secondary materials. Given that transportation laws and
policies have changed since the 1970's (when extensive studies were done), EPA will
work with the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Department of Transportation to
Investigate whether transportation issues significantly affect the marketing of
secondary materials, and whether changes to these policies are necessary to remove
disincentives to creating stable markets.
Market development studies would be valuable in determining the regional,
national, and international growth potential for the secondary (waste) paper market.
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These studies, done at the state, regional, or Federal level, should evaluate ways to
expand paper markets on a level concomitant with increased collection and separation
of waste paper. EPA will conduct such a study, as well as similar studies on compost
aluminum and glass. Market development studies for other secondary materials would
identify ways to stimulate markets for these commodities. All market development
studies should solicit input from the existing local and national secondary materials
markets.
-Create Regional Market Councils-
Development of nonprofit regional market information councils can enhance
communication among states and between localities so as to improve marketing and
information-sharing regarding secondary materials and compost. To be effective, these
councils must build on the existing markets and networks in their region. Such
organizations can match markets with sellers and provide information on the amount and
type of processing necessary, the long-term availability of the market, and the
volumes that the market will bear. In addition, regional market councils can study
regional market development and institute policies to enhance or stabilize markets.
Membership in such an organization should include representatives from the waste
management, manufacturing, and secondary materials industries, states, and public
interest groups.
-More Procurement of Recycled Goods-
Procurement of recycled goods is an important way to stimulate final markets for
recycled products. Organizations that purchase large amounts of products, such as
governments, corporations and industry, can be especially helpful in stimulating
markets. Purchases of recycled goods by consumers provide a clear signal to the
manufacturing industry to produce and advertise recycled products.
Governments and corporations should issue procurement guidelines for recycled
goods. Candidate products include numerous papers (office, computer, newsprint,
corrugated, tissue), glass, plastic, compost, aluminum, steel, oil, tires, batteries,
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etc. For example, the Federal government will study whether procurement guidelines
should be issued for materials in addition to the ones already issued for paper,
re-refined oils and tires, and the one in process for insulation materials. One
example would be used automotive parts, or remanufactured engines or electronics. All
levels of government could procure compost for use along roads and in landscaping
public lands. EPA and GSA will form a working group with other Federal agencies to
develop education and implementation programs for existing, planned, and potential
guidelines In Federal agencies.
•Compost-
o Yard Waste - Special Emphasis
Composting of yard waste is a key element in the Agenda for Action because yard
waste accounts for nearly one-fifth of municipal solid waste; it is a beneficial use;
and the technologies, which vary from low-technology to high technology can be readily
tailored to meet the needs of each community. As with recycling of other wastes,
composting of yard waste is often cost-effective, especially when avoided costs are
considered.
o Co-Composting
Compost from processed food and yard waste, municipal waste and co-composted
municipal solid waste and sewage, and sludge is also an option which localities should
explore. In Europe, composting facilities have been successfully operated for over 30
years. For example, in Sweden, over one-fourth of all solid waste is composted.
At the same time, it is important to assure that all composting facilities are
run in an environmentally sound way and that the compost, itself, does not cause any
significant environmental problems. Markets for compost also need to be further
developed. Quality guidance for compost products are needed to provide national
consistency and to assure that the compost will perform safely and adequately. EPA
will establish guidelines for compost facilities and for compost. The Agency will
also do a market development study for compost.
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Better Separation, Collection and Processing of Materials
To reach a goal of increased recycling, more materials heed to be separated,
collected, processed, marketed and manufactured into new products. We have discussed
ways to stimulate the two final steps (marketing, manufacture) of recycling, but we
also need to stimulate the first three steps.
-Local Programs-
Collection, separation, and processing are essentially local issues, and as such,
will not be discussed in detail in this report. In general, the more convenient
collection is for the waste generator and for the waste handler, the higher the
participation rate and amount of materials collected.
Many communities and states have devised successful mandatory or voluntary
collection and separation programs. Again, the issue of mandatory versus voluntary
programs is a local or state issue, depending on the community's or state's needs.
Other local aspects of collection include the design of an education program and
choosing among curbside pickup, drop-off centers, and materials recovery facilities.
Local recycling coordinators can contribute significantly to the success of recycling
programs. Training of these coordinators in education, collection, processing and
marketing is therefore very important. EPA will generate guidance on training of
recycling coordinators.
-Special Recyclables-
Two commodities currently are difficult to collect and/or process, but may be
beneficial to recycle-plastics and lead-acid batteries. In addition, the processing
of scrap metals by shredding (including appliances and automobiles) can present
special problems.
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Plastics are promising materials for increased recovery and recycling; however,
collection and separation of different types of plastic are difficult, and hamper
current recycling efforts. The voluntary coding of plastic types undertaken by the
plastics Industry is a helpful first step. Until plastic collection is substantially
Improved, recycling of plastics will continue to lag. Industry should step up its
study of the problems and options for collection of plastics for recycling.
Lead-acid batteries are a problem to collect, process and dispose of. Although
many are recycled, a significant number are not. Many battery recyclers are closing
their doors, and many retailers and auto shops will not accept used batteries from the
consumer. We must avoid potential risk to human health and the environment from the
lead and acid in these uncollected (and possibly mismanaged) batteries. Regulatory
and nonregulatory options for recovery of lead-acid batteries, including a mandatory
"take-back," by manufacturers will be investigated to find practical ways to collect
them for safe recycling.
"White goods" (appliances) and automobiles have been collected effectively by
retailers and the scrap industry. Recently, however, the potential problems asso-
ciated with the shredding of these goods may be detrimental to this important
recycling sector. Possible contamination of the shredder residue with polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) and other contaminants must be investigated. We must ensure that
these processes present little risk to human health and the environment, while
assuring that the beneficial recycling of these materials continues.
Establish a National Recycling Council
A national advisory council on recycling policies should be formed, comprised
of representatives from the secondary materials and waste management industries,
public Interest groups, states, localities and regional marketing cooperatives. This
council would stay abreast of technical, regulatory, and legislative policies and
Initiatives that can enhance or hamper recycling efforts. The advisory council would
also measure national progress in attaining goals of Increased recycling. In
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addition, a national council can explore international markets for secondary materials
and study world trends. This council should obtain funding through its membership.
Examine Incentives and Disincentives For Safe Recycling
Industry has argued that potential liability under Superfund may inhibit the
secondary materials and recycling industries from recycling materials such as lead-
acid batteries, household hazardous waste, used oil, autos, and white goods (refrig-
erators, etc.). These secondary materials and recycling facilities may be liable
because of the potentially toxic byproducts of processing, including lead and cadmium,
and PCBs.
Potential liability may provide a disincentive for persons to operate a recycling
facility, but also provides an important incentive for persons to properly manage
their wastes. EPA should review the incentives and disincentives affecting these
industries.
Industrial and Commercial Waste Exchanges
High volume homogeneous industrial or commercial wastes should be reused and
recycled to the highest degree possible. As noted previously, these nonhazardous
solid wastes can often end up as municipal solid waste, taking up valuable landfill
capacity or disturbing operations at a combustion facility. Waste exchanges are an
important way to relay these wastes from the point of generation to the market. In
addition, these waste exchanges can often save companies significant costs in dis-
posal. Many regional waste exchanges exist already. Communities and industries
should access these existing networks or form new exchanges for their areas.
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Summary of Participants in Increasing Recycling
•Participants for Stimulating Markets-
Economic incentives and disincentives should be reviewed by all levels of
government and industry. EPA will update previous studies on economic factors,
Including transportation disincentives to recycling and potential economic incentives
for industries processing or using secondary materials and for industries that
purchase recycled goods.
Market studies for secondary materials should be done by industry and all levels
of government. EPA will focus initially on paper and compost.
Industry should convert manufacturing processes to utilize secondary materials to
a much greater extent, in order to stimulate secondary materials markets.
Everyone should purchase recycled goods where practical. EPA will form an
Agency Working Group to foster federal procurement of recycled goods. This should
be followed by establishment of a multi-agency Federal task group, made up of repre-
sentatives from EPA, the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense,
and other Federal agencies, to encourage Federal agencies to procure recycled goods
and compost (e.g., National Park Service), and study how procurement of these goods
may affect operations within the agencies. EPA has issued procurement guidelines for
some commodities, including paper and tires, and is developing guidelines for others.
The working group will also formulate ways for agencies to enforce procurement
guidelines, to ensure that proper purchasing is occurring.
-Participants fn Better Separation, Collection and Processing-
All levels of government should consider the merits of mandatory separation and
collection of recyclables. An interagency working group will be convened to study the
feasibility of a comprehensive separation and collection program for Federal Agen-
cies. A model program to educate employees and encourage participation in paper
recycling Is under development by EPA.
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Recycling in communities should be publicized by local governments and the waste
management industry through the news media, schools, workshops, etc. The secondary
materials industries should publicize their availability and existing network to the
public and local government and should examine ways to expand their role in community
recycling.
Industry working with government should continue to investigate ways to collect
more plastics, while the Federal Government will Investigate systems for assuring that
car batteries are collected. EPA will evaluate the regulatory and nonregulatory
options for promoting better management of batteries. Use of the Toxic Substances
Control Act will be investigated. Finally, EPA will evaluate the management of
"fluff" residue from shredding of white goods, autos, and other metals.
-Participants in Waste Exchanges-
States and industry should distribute information on existing waste exchanges
through regional marketing councils and should assist local governments and industries
in matching waste providers with recipients.
Municipalities and the waste management industry should characterize their waste
streams and meet with the industries that contribute their solid wastes to the
municipal solid waste stream. Local governments and waste handlers should develop
local or regional waste exchanges and work with the industries at hand to find markets
or uses for this waste.
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TABLE 4.
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO PARTICIPATE IN AND
ENCOURAGE INCREASED RECYCLING
Stimulate Markets for Secondary Materials
Study on existing economic and transportation disincentives
to recycling SEPTEMBER 1989
Study on potential recycling incentives
to encourage recycling DECEMBER 1989
Market development study for paper SEPTEMBER 1989
Market development study for compost SEPTEMBER 1989
Initiate guidelines for compost facilities NOVEMBER 1989
Initiate guidelines for compost quality NOVEMBER 1989
Form EPA Working Group for implementing procurement. . . . NOVEMBER 1988
Form Federal Task Group for implementing procurement .... NOVEMBER 1989
Final tire procurement guidelines NOVEMBER 1988
Final Insulation materials procurement guidelines FEBRUARY 1989
Study on procurement of other materials AUGUST 1989
Better Separation, Collection Processing and Recycling
of Waste
Initiate model training program for recycling coordinators . . NOVEMBER 1989
Review regulatory, non-regulatory options
forbatteries AUGUST 1989
Evaluate recycling of white goods and other metals ONGOING
Form interagency work group on recycling and separation
in Federal agencies AUGUST 1989
Model education program for Federal agencies JUNE 1989
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TABLE 4. (Continued)
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO PARTICIPATE IN AND
ENCOURAGE INCREASED RECYCLING
National Recycling Council
Facilitate the formation of the National Council
Review Incentives and Disincentive of Liability
Review of lead-acid batteries and metal-
shredding byproducts
MARCH
1989
ONGOING
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V. OBJECTIVE: REDUCE RISKS OF COMBUSTION
Combustion of municipal waste can be a viable waste management alternative for
many communities. To Increase the viability of this option, it is important to ensure
that combustors are designed, operated, and controlled to
minimize risks to human health and the environment from
both air emissions and ash. Options for Improving the
safety of combustion include upgrading combustor per-
formance standards, Increasing education and technical
assistance, establishing operator training and certifi-
cation programs, and evaluating potential bans on
combustion of some types of waste.
Combustion of waste can
be a viable waste
management alternative if
It Is designed, operated,
and controlled to
minimize risks to human
health and the
environment.
Upgrade Combustor Performance Standards and Ash Management
-AfrEmJsslons-
The establishment of appropriate performance standards for municipal waste
combustors serves several purposes, including protection of human health and the
environment, consistency and efficiency in the design and operation of combustors, and
Increased public confidence In the safety of combustors. Standards for particulate
matter control from combustors were initially established in the 1970's. Since then,
pollution control technologies applicable to combustors have improved significantly.
Considering these technological improvements and other information compiled
during the EPA's comprehensive study of municipal waste combustion, EPA issued an
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) announcing intentions to revise
standards for combustors. EPA plans to issue both performance standards for new
sources and guidelines for states to use in considering additional control require-
ments for existing sources. These regulatory requirements for new and existing
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combustors should ensure that the public health and environment are protected through
the application of the best system of control technologies available considering cost,
energy requirements, and other environmental considerations.
The current schedule calls for the new source standards and existing source
guidelines to be proposed in November 1989 and promulgated in December 1990. In the
interim, EPA has already taken steps to ensure that new sources install the best
available control technologies. In June 1987, EPA issued guidance to new source
permitting authorities that established the presumption that best available control
technologies for combustors include dry scrubbers, efficient particulate control
equipment, and good combustion practices. A recent survey of affected sources
demonstrated one hundred percent compliance with the June 1987 guidance.
-Ash Management-
No combustor should be built without a plan for management of the residual ash.
Such plans might include dedicated landfill cells with special pollution controls,
stabilization, or contracts for recycling the ash for use in roadbeds. Local
government should require a plan for safe and effective ash management when
contracting for a combustion facility.
Education and Technical Assistance
Education and technical assistance regarding the combustion of municipal solid
waste are important in increasing, the safety and effectiveness of combustion.
Citizens who are more educated about the design and operation of combustors can
better assist in the planning for local waste management, and may be more willing to
site properly designed and operated combustors. Operators of combustion facilities as
well as local government can use technical assistance offered by the Federal govern-
ment and industry in order to ensure safe and effective combustion of the waste.
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All levels of government (local, state, tribal, and Federal) need to educate
their citizens about the risks and benefits of municipal solid waste combustion, in
addition to the other issues mentioned previously in this report. Local governments
need to Involve citizens in the decision-making process. Citizens want to know about
the risks that they may be assuming in siting a facility in their neighborhood.
Information on risks, as well as other relevant issues will be included in EPA's
update of the Declsionmakers Guide.
Operator Certification
Operator training and certification programs can help ensure safe and effective
operation of the combustor and pollution control equipment. Issues that need to be
resolved concerning training and certification include: which level of government
should establish training and certification requirements, which specific combustor
plant personnel should be trained and/or certified, how frequently certification
should be renewed, and others.
Some states have already initiated training and certification programs. EPA has
maintained close contact both with these states and with the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) during ASME's ongoing efforts to develop a model
combustor training and certification program. Although states and/or local govern-
ments are best suited to actually administer such programs, EPA will be considering
the value of establishing model operator training and certification standards or
guidance during the development of the regulatory program for new and existing
combustors.
Banning Particular Wastes from Combustors
Existing data indicate that certain waste materials contribute relatively
significant amounts of hazardous constituents to emissions and ash (especially toxic
organlcs and heavy metals). However, data are currently inadequate to determine
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precisely the effect on air emissions and ash of eliminating specific materials from
the waste stream prior to combustion. EPA has commissioned a study to identify major
sources of lead and cadmium which are disposed of in the municipal solid waste stream.
As a follow up to this study, EPA will do a preliminary screen to see if there are
potential substitutes for significant sources of lead or cadmium. If suitable
substitutes may be available for lead or cadmium in any products, a regulatory
evaluation will be initiated for those products to determine if restrictions on, or
substitution for lead or cadmium is appropriate.
Despite the current paucity of data, individual governments at the state and
local level may wish to consider banning specific waste materials from existing or
planned combustors for various reasons. For example, a municipality struggling to
initiate an effective yard waste composting program may find that banning yard wastes
from combustion may increase composting rates. Such yard waste bans may also improve
combustion of the rest of the waste stream by reducing moisture content and ensuring
more consistent Btu values through the seasons. Local governments considering bans of
certain wastes from combustors should ensure that sufficient capacity is available to
properly handle the banned waste, and that the management option for the banned waste
does not pose a greater risk to human health and the environment.
Municipal Waste Combustor Permits
Some states and communities have a policy of issuing cornbustor permits only when
the cornbustor was planned as part of an overall evaluation of integrated waste
management, including recycling. Thus, waste managers and planners would have to at
least consider the practicality of establishing a recycling and/or composting program.
Such practices can help to prevent reliance on "single solutions" and promote the
concepts and practices of integrated waste management. Other communities should
consider such action in order to leverage consideration of recycling programs and
ensure proper planning.
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TABLE 5.
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO HELP REDUCE THE RISKS OF COMBUSTION
Upgrade Combustor Performance Standards and Ash Management
Proposed air emission standards NOVEMBER 1989
Final air emission standards DECEMBER 1990
Operator Certification
Resolve Issues JUNE 1989
Decide whether to develop a model
operator certification program NOVEMBER 1989
Bans on Materials from Incinerators (See also Table 3, Minimizing
Toxic Constituents and Materials in Waste)
Provide information on problem wastes (see also Table 6,
Bans on Materials from Landfills) DECEMBER 1989
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VI. OBJECTIVE: REDUCE RISKS OF LANDFILLS
Municipal solid waste landfills are used to dispose of the majority of our
nation's municipal solid waste, and will continue to be essential in the future.
Although increased source reduction and recycling will reduce the volumes of waste
going to landfills, and may make some waste more benign, we must increase the safety
of landfills to ensure protection of human health and the environment, as well as
public support when new ones must be sited. Operator certification, minimum design
and operation standards, education and technical assistance, and studies on potential
bans of some wastes from landfills all contribute to reaching the goal of increased
safety and reduced volumes of waste needing landfilling.
Operator Certification
Properly designed and operated landfills require knowledgeable operators in order
to ensure efficient and safe compaction of waste without damage to liners, leachate
collection systems, or other design features. In addi-
tion, the monitoring required at municipal landfills
requires an experienced operator. Certification of
operators can help ensure that experienced operators run
the facilities and equipment. Increasing the safety and
effective use of landfills through certification can help
prevent problems endangering human health and the
environment, can increase public confidence, and can extend precious landfill
capacity.
Any certification of landfill operators should occur through state programs or
through programs developed by trade and industry associations. EPA is planning to
provide guidance on certification to states that want to develop and implement a
Municipal solid waste
landfills are used to
dispose of the majority
of our nation's municipal
solid waste, and will
continue to be essential
in the future.
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certification program. These programs could work similarly to the programs for
combustor operator certification.
Increase Design and Operation Standards and Guidance
Minimum standards for the design and operation of landfills are critical for
ensuring protection of human health and the environment over both the short and long
term. Properly designed and operated landfills should provide safe disposal of waste,
but do not efficiently reduce the bulk or toxicity of the waste. Thus, waste disposed
in landfills degrades very slowly and safe design and operation throughout the life of
the landfill Is crucial.
Minimum standards for design and operation of landfills exist at both the Federal
and state level. Revised minimum standards for design, operation, and location of
landfills, including monitoring, closure and corrective action requirements were
proposed by EPA on August 30, 1988, in response to requirements under the Hazardous
and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. When final, these standards will help to prevent
future problems with releases of toxic constituents to ground and surface waters.
Remedial action for existing and/or closed landfills that are posing potential threats
to human health and the environment is also important. States must- adopt and enforce
these standards for existing landfills in order to ensure safe and effective operation
of landfills. Many states have already developed stringent standards for operation
and design of landfills.
EPA has also been developing air emission standards for new and existing land-
fills under the Clean Air Act to control emissions of volatile organic compounds that
create an odor nuisance as well as a potential hazard to human health and the
environment.
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Education and Technical Assistance
Education and technical assistance by all levels of government and industry can
decrease the risks posed by landfllling, upgrade design and operation, and increase
public confidence in the management practice.
There is ongoing debate about the landfill characteristics which are best for
managing municipal solid waste. This debate is concerned with whether a landfill
should be "dry" (to prevent any leaching of hazardous constituents) or "wet" (to
promote degradation at a higher rate). EPA will sponsor a technical conference of
experts and engineers to further discuss this question, and any research necessary in
the area.
As mentioned earlier in the section on combustion, education about risks,
benefits, and other relevant information should be available to everyone. The
decisionmakers guide which was mentioned earlier will include a discussion on
landfills.
Finally, guidance on implementing EPA's final revised landfill criteria will be
necessary for municipal waste landfill owners and operators. EPA will develop this
guidance to aid in proper implementation.
Bans on Certain Wastes from Landfills
It may be desirable to restrict or ban certain wastes from landfills in order to
increase the safety and effective management of the landfill and leachate collection
system. Some wastes may be "bad actors" by contributing hazardous constituents to
landfill leachate, producing explosive levels of methane gas or producing toxic air
emissions.
What wastes, if any, should be banned from landfills should be considered by the
Federal government, states and municipalities. EPA will provide information on which
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constituents should be considered by states and localities for bans. Constituents
such as oil, household hazardous waste, car batteries, tires, and yard waste will be
considered by EPA. For any proposed bans, the management practice that would take the
place of landfilling should be evaluated to ensure that this alternate management
practice has sufficient current or future capacity and poses fewer risks/than
landfilling. For example, states and municipalities should ensure that composting
facilities have adequate capacity to handle a large influx of yard waste which may
have been banned from the landfill, or that new composting facilities will be built.
Landfill Permits
Some states and communities have a policy of issuing landfill permits only when
the landfill was planned as part of an overall evaluation of integrated waste
management, Including recycling. Thus, waste managers and planners would have to at
least consider the practicality of establishing a recycling and/or composting program.
Such practices can help to prevent reliance on "single solutions" and promote-the
concepts and practices of integrated waste management. Other communities should
consider such action in order to leverage consideration of recycling programs and
ensure proper planning.
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TABLE 6
NEXT STEPS FOR EPA TO HELP REDUCE THE RISKS OF LANDFILLING
Operator certification
Training materials for operators SEPTEMBER 1989
State certification guidance . DECEMBER 1990
Design and operation standards
Propose revised minimum criteria for landfills AUGUST 1988
Issue final criteria DECEMBER 1989
Air emission standards proposed . . . . . . . MAY 1990
Final air emission standards AUGUST 1991
Education and Technical Assistance
Technical guidance for the revised landfill criteria .... JANUARY 1990
Bans on Materials from Landfilling (see also Table 3, Minimizing
Toxic Constituents and Materials in Waste)
Provide information on problem wastes DECEMBER 1989
(see also Table 5, Ban on Materials from combustors)
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CONCLUSION
Our nation has choices as to how we are going to deal with our ever-growing
garbage problem. We can continue to create more and more garbage, or we ,can cut back.
We can continue to bury most of our waste, or we can find feasible ways to recycle
more of it. We can design products and packaging without considering disposal or we
can design for source reduction and recycling. We can wait for local crises to occur
or we can plan now to avoid them. In short, we can ignore the issue and hope it goes
away, which it will not, or we can act now to deal with it. But whether we like it or
not, our garbage is no longer "out of sight and out of mind."
The Agenda for Action establishes a "game plan" for addressing our garbage
problem which underscores the need for an effective integrated waste management
approach, including source reduction, recycling, combustion, and landfilling. It is
not a panacea, but the Agency believes that its implementation will go a long way in
safely eliminating the gap between the generation of garbage and our capacity to
handle il, as well as provide for waste management that protects both human health and
the environment.
lil
CD
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* U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:! 992-626-379/60691
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