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'BBP ^im*VNilNBVHINHB ^^BIB ^i^Bi SH ^^W^RWB^B^HF • ^•MIMI^MB
       tolmproviE
Solid Ulaste. management

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   Initialing a national Effort
             tolmpraue
   Solid Ulaste management
         A comprehensive chronicle (SW-14)
of activities and accomplishments in solid waste management
                 within
  the U.S. Department of Health, Education., and Welfare
            under authority of the
        Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965
        U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                   1971

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          An environmental protection publication
       in the solid waste management series (SW-14).
Single copies of this publication are available from solid
waste management publications distribution, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 5555 Ridge Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio  45213-

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                                 FOREWORD


     At a time of growing national commitment to restore the quality of

our environment, it is important to understand the efforts already made

in a categorical program that has been concerned with what has been

called the "third pollution."

     With the passage of the Solid Waste Disposal Act in 1965 and the

establishment of implementing regulations, the Department of Health,

Education, and Welfare (DHEW) assumed major responsibilities for improving

solid waste management practices in the United States.1'2

     This document is a report on accomplishments made by the Department

in executing its responsibilities under the Act.  It is designed to be

used in conjunction with the seven companion summary publications that

present the complete story of staff, grant, and contract projects,

describing objectives, details of funding, and progress on each proj-

ect. 3"9

     Throughout the report the federal solid wastes program is referred

to by the final appelation it held during the latter part of its  five

years under DHEW,--The Bureau of Solid Waste Management.

                                       — RICHARD D.  VAUGHAN
                                        Deputy Assistant Administrator
                                            for  Solid Waste Management
     !The Solid Waste Disposal Act; Title II of Public Law 89-2/2, 89th
Cong. S.306, October 20, 1965-  Washington,  U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1966.  5 p.
                                   i i

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     ^Grants for solid waste disposal  projects.   Federal  Register,
3l(6l):5l80-5l83, Mar. 30,  1966.  Reprinted as amended,  June 8,  1967.
Reprinted, Washington, U.S.  Government Printing Office,  1968.   4 p.
     3Bayless,  T. B., comp.  Publications of the Federal  solid  waste
management program, 1951 —1970.   Public Health Service Publication No.
2112.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office.   (in  press.)
     4Toftner,  R. 0., D.  D.  Swavely, W. T.  Dehn,  and B.  L.  Sweeney,
comps.   State solid waste planning grants,  agencies, and  progress--1970;
report of activities through June 30,  1970.  Public  Health  Service
Publication No. 2031.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office,
1971.  26 p.
     5Lefke, L. W., A. G. Keene, R.  A. Chapman,  and  H. Johnson,  comps.
Summaries of solid wastes research and training grants —1970.   Public
Health Service Publication  No.  1596.   Washington, U.S. Government Print-
ing Office.  (in press.)
     6Breidenbach, A. W., comp.    Summaries of solid waste  intramural  research
and development projects.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office,  1971.
24 p.
     7Sponagle, C. E.  Summaries; solid wastes demonstration grant
projects--1969.  Public Health  Service Publication No. 1821.  Washington,
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969.  175 p.
     8Sponagle, C. E.  Solid wastes demonstration grant abstracts;  grants
awarded January l--June 30,  1969-   Cincinnati ,  U.S. Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare,  1969.   47 p.
     9Clemons,  C. A. and R.  J.  Black.   Summaries of  solid wastes program
contracts, July 1, 1965~-June 30, 1968.  Public Health Service Publica-
tion No.  1897.   Washington,  U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969-   46 p.
Supplement  (insert), July 1, 1968--June 30, 1970.  38 p.
                                   I v

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                              CONTENTS



  I.    INITIATING A NATIONAL EFFORT TO  IMPROVE                              1
       SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 II.    HISTORY OF  FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACT IV IT IES                             9
       IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

       The Postwar  Years                                                   10

       The Solid Waste Disposal  Act                                        11

       Organization  under PHEW                                            17

           Office of  Solid Wastes                                          17

           Solid Wastes Program                                            17

           Bureau of  Solid Waste Management                                18

              Division of Demonstration Operations                         19

              Division of Research and  Development                         21

              Division of Technical  Operations                             21

              Office  of Program  Development                                22

              Office  of Information                                        22

       Fiscal  Data                                                         23

       Conclus ion                                                          28

III.    ACTIVITIES  IN  SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT,  1966-1970                     29

       Demonstration  Operations                                            29

           Objectives  of  the Demonstration Grant  Projects                  30

           Achievements                                                   31

              Storage and Collection                                       32
              Sani tary Landfi11                                            33
              Incinerators and Incineration                                3^
              Composting                                                   35

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       Rail  Haul                                                    37
       Management of Specific Wastes                               38
       Planning for Area-Wide Solid Waste Management               39
       Equipment  Evaluation                                        40
       Miscellaneous Projects                                      41

    Conclusion                                                     4]

Research Operations                                                41

    Research and  Development Matrix                                42

       Source Reduction                                            43         -_
       Storage                                                     45
       Collection and Transport                                    45
       Volume Reduction Processing                                 47         *
       Land and Sea Disposal                                       48
       Reclamation                                                 49
       Research Services                                           50

    Modes of Funding                                               51

       Intramural Research                                         51
       Contract Research                                           52
       Research Grants                                             54

    Conclusion                                                     55

Technical Operations                                               56

    Technical Assistance and Investigation Branch                  57

    Basic Data Branch                                              58

    Systems Management Branch                                      58

    Operational Analysis Branch                                    58

    Planning Grants                                                62

       Urbanization                                                65
       Public Attitudes                                            67
       Accomplishments                                             69

    Development of National Survey of Community Solid
      Waste Practices                                              71

       Survey Forms                                                72
       Survey Coverage                                             73
        Implementation                                              74
       Recording and Processing Survey Data                        75


                             vi

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             Date  Presentation                                            76
             Conclusion                                                   76

          Technical  Assistance                                            j6

             Engineering                                                  81
             Planning                                                     8^
             Management Sciences                                          85
             Computer  Technology                                          87
             Statistics                                                   88
             Data  Development                                             90
             Legislation                                                  90

          Training Operations                                             92

             Courses Offered                                              93
             Training  Grants                                              36

          Information  Activities                                         101

             Publishing Operations  Office                                101
             Public Information  Office                                  103
             Solid Waste  Information  Retrieval  System                   103

IV.   FUTURE  NEEDS  AND  PROGRAMS                                           106
                                  VI I

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                       INITIATING A NATIONAL EFFORT
                   TO  IMPROVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT


     The population of the United States is expected to double within

the lifetimes of most of today's citizens, doubling also the demands

upon the unchanging air, water,  and land resources of our country.

     The 1960's ended with a population of over 200 million, a preeminent

industrial complex, a vast agricultural industry, and an individual

affluence without precedent.  The environmental effects of these social

phenomena are evident already in air and water pollution, urban and

rural  blight.

     The solid wastes being generated from individuals and communities

now exceed 3&0 million tons a year, only half of which is collected.

Agricultural solid wastes are estimated at 2 billion tons a year;

mineral wastes add another billion tons each year.  As the Nation  enters

the 1970's it is generating over 3-3 billion tons of solid wastes

annually.  Within the next 30 years this outpouring of waste material

could  more than double, as the population is predicted to double.

     Space for waste is not limitless.   Neither, with such an expansion

of population as is anticipated, can we continue to afford the economic

loss from profligate discard of  used material,  much less the increased

health hazard to our people from polluted air,  water, and land.  A

substantial  portion of our Gross National  Product is being junked  each

year.  Billions of tons of material  produced by  human labor are being

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expended as waste without reclamation.   The economic loss  is  compounded




by the cost of solid waste management:   the collection,  transportation,




and processing or storage of waste is already the third  greatest




financial burden of local governments in the Nation, exceeded only by




education and road construction and maintenance.   This waste  is  matter,




indestructible, and must remain in our environment as gases,  liquids,




or solids, whether used or unused.  Such is the nature of  the problem.




     In past years, wastes were disposed of in the seemingly  limitless




reservoirs of air, water, and land.  Only recently have  we realized




that these natural reservoirs are not limitless.   Our littered streets,




bulging dumps, polluted rivers and dying lakes, the choking air of our




cities, and the offal  on our beaches testify to decades  of neglect and




the limits of the environment, which can no longer accommodate the vast




and increasing waste products of our society.




     This report addresses the specific problem of solid waste management.




As defined in the Solid Waste Disposal  Act, solid waste  is garbage,




refuse, and other discarded solid materials, including those  resulting




from industrial, commercial and agricultural operations, and  from




community activities.  Solid waste does  not include solids  in  domestic




sewage or other water resource pollutants such as silt,  irrigation




return flows, or industrial waste water.




     The problem of solid waste disposal is interrelated with those of




air and water pollution, each having its own environmental peculiarities.




The differences stem principally from the fact that water  and air are




natural transport systems, whether polluted or unpolluted, whereas

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solid wastes require transportation devised by man.  Water and air also




have a natural cleansing or assimilative capacity; until this capacity




is exceeded, they are generally capable of self-renewal.  In contrast




to this, solid wastes discharged upon the land do not disperse and




mingle with the soil except to a very minor degree.




     These factors present special problems to solid waste management.




Disposition of solids from their original site to processing, storage,




or discharge to the environment is primarily mechanical.  Processing




and discharge are limited by the related problems of air and water




pollution.  Incineration, grinding, the use of water for either




transportation of solids or as solid waste sinks, impinge upon the




concurrent attempts to purify the air and water environments.  On the




other hand, the elimination of impurities from air or water at the source




of pollution commonly results in the generation of solid wastes by




separation, drying, or compaction, which in turn require disposal.




Measures to reduce pollution, or dispose of waste material,  must therefore




be taken with full consideration of the effect upon the overall




environment--air,  water, and land.




     The intent of the Congress,  as reflected in the Solid Waste Disposal




Act of 1965, typifies one of the peculiarities of solid waste disposal:




it cannot be regulated on a national  level  in the sense that air and




water pollution can be regulated.   There is no medium such as air or




water that naturally carries solid waste across political  boundaries,




affecting the people at large.   Most  solid  wastes are deposited on land




locally and their  disposition remains a local  problem.   Nevertheless,




the people at large are affected  in other ways.

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     The problem is concentrated in densely populated urban areas.




Entire neighborhoods are being degenerated, blighting the inner cities




and reducing local  revenues to such an extent that State or Federal




assistance is required to prevent financial chaos.




     Refuse storage, collection, transportation, and processing directly




and intimately affect some 80 percent of the population.




     The costs of waste handling, already severe, are rising.




     The loss of billions of tons of material to unreclaimed waste each




year indirectly affects the entire citizenry.




     The aesthetic and real values of areas with increasing population




are being degraded by inadequately effected solid waste disposal.




     It was apparent to the Congress that the primary contribution to be




made by the Federal Government was assistance to State and local




governments and interstate agencies, guided by the overall interests of




the Nation.  This assistance is rendered in the form of research and




development at the national level, and technical and financial assistance




for the planning, development, and conduct of solid waste disposal




programs at the State, local, and interstate levels.




     The results of the Solid Waste Disposal Act have been:   (l) the




dissemination of technical, operational, and management information;




(2) the encouragement and support of research and development on




equipment and systems; (3) the demonstration of  improved solid waste




handling systems;  (4) and the development of funding, planning procedures,




and personnel training programs.

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     These activities have been nonregulatory in nature but are intended




to have deep and lasting economic and societal effects.




     The major economic significance of the solid waste management




problem—its overall cost to the Nation—has been indicated above.  There




are other economic considerations.




     The potential  for recovery of materials from solid wastes has been




exploited to only a small degree, notably in steel and copper.  These




mineral fractions represent a minor part of the 200 million tons of




solid waste discarded and unreclaimed each year.  Such wastes are a major




national resource,  and their return to economical reuse must somehow




become a common practice as solid waste increases in the years of the




near future.




     There is also an unrealized potential in the reduction of costs




through increased efficiency in the handling, transportation, processing,




and disposal of solid wastes.  Mechanization, with its reduced demands




for human labor, improvement of personnel skills through manpower




development programs, and reduced accident rates in the waste disposal




processes, are under study and experimentation with the objective of




long-term cost reduction.




     The cost of the Nation in human physiological disorders that result




from inadequate disposal of solid waste cannot be determined.  It is




known that conditions favoring insect and rodent disease vectors are




enhanced by undisposed waste, and that polluted air and water contribute




to human disease.  Considering the large number of workers  in the areas




of waste collection, processing, and disposal, and considering the

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hazardous nature of their occupations, their lack of training,  and




exposure of extremes of weather, the high cost in deaths,  debilitation,




and lost man-hours through illness is predictable.




     Since one of the current problems of solid waste disposal  relates




to modes of transportation to processing sites or repository, an adequate




solution might also be applicable to the commercial  hauling of bulk




materials (such as coal and ore).




     The problems of solid waste management compel the development of




techniques and systems vastly more sophisticated than those now in common




use.  The ultimate effect of such developments is no more  predictable




than the side benefits from the space program.  What can be clearly




assessed, however, is that the urban, industrial, and agricultural




activities of the population have resulted thus far  in a degradation of




the overall  environment of the United States, and that this trend must




be reversed.




     Only in the last decade have serious thought and effort been




addressed nationally to the problems of waste disposal.   During that




time,  the basic philosophy has changed.  From an initial concentration




on pollution control, and the attempt to regulate the flow of waste from




its sources, a realization has grown that our real concern is for the




overall quality of the environment.  Broad objectives of clean air, pure




water, and a higher quality of life in our country are those receiving




popular support and dominating public policy through elected




representatives and officials.  The American people  are not satisfied




to live with polluted air or water, or amidst their  own solid wastes.

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And at best, the production of waste material can only be reduced by




regulation at the Federal or State level.




     We have found that the immediate practical solution to solid




waste problems is in physical  procedures:  collection methods,




transportation, processing, recycling into the economy, or sequestering




unusable material into permanent storage.  We have recognized that such




efforts must be efficient, economical, not injurious to either public




health or the ecology, and aesthetically satisfactory to our citizens.




     The Federal  Government has devoted its resources to such functions




as can assist in  realizing these objectives.   The Federal efforts,




solutions, and continuing problems of the past five years are set forth




in the following  pages.

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                                      11
                  HISTORY OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
                          IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
      Interest in solid waste disposal as a national problem was evident

as early as the 19th century.  One of the initial efforts was to document

the existing system of garbage disposal  in 1887-  During that year,  the

American Public Health Association established a committee to study  the

problem and received its report on the destruction of organic refuse

by fire the following year.10  In 189**, a similar committee undertook a

study of the collection and disposal of waste matter and completed a

report in 1897-

     Almost a generation later, a classic and comprehensive study was

made by Randolph Hering and Samuel A. Greeley.  Published in 1921,

Collect-Ion and Disposal of Micn-ioi-pal Refuse is of continued interest

today.11  Hering and Greeley estimated the waste production of 33 cities,

varying in population between 25,000 and A,250,000, with a total

population of 17,750,000 included in the study.  The investigators

computed an annual average waste production per capita of 183 pounds
     10Ki1vington, S. S.  Garbage crematories and the destruction of
organic matter by fire.  Minneapolis, Harrison and Smith, 1888.  [8 p.]

     nHering, R., and S. A. Greeley.  Collection and disposal of munic-
ipal refuse.  New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1921.   653 p.

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garbage and 770 pounds ashes and rubbish, or 953 pounds total.   This




amounted to 2.58 pounds of refuse per capita per day.   The work of Hering




and Greeley also established three basic requirements  for the satisfactory




disposal of solid wastes:  (1)  absence of danger to public health, (2)




minimum distance to the public, (3)  minimum expense that will affect a




sanitary disposal of all refuse materials.






                             The Postwar Years
     Although these early examples addressed the problems of solid waste




disposal from a national, rather than local, viewpoint, they were neither




initiated nor sponsored by the Federal Government.   It was not until




World War II  and its aftermath that the problem of  waste disposal became




sufficiently severe at the local level to incite action by the executive,




and subsequently the legislative, branches of the Federal Government.




The enormously increased productivity of the war years was carried into




the postwar period and continued.  The population exploded into initial




and secondary "baby booms."  The affluence of society accelerated the



generation of solid waste.  Twenty years after the  end of World War II,



air and water pollution, junked vehicles and appliances,  used but




persistent detergents and pesticides, had become problems of the people




at large and, as a result, problems of their Nation's government.




     Prior to 1966, there were solid-waste-related  activities within  the




Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; these were conducted in  a




small operation within the Environmental Engineering and Food Protection






                                    10

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Division of the Public Health Service.  A staff of from two to five

people conducted studies in the areas of sanitary landfill and composting

operations.  The staff also provided limited technical assistance,

guidance, and consultation on solid waste handling and disposal to State

and local government agencies, professional organizations, and individuals,

     In addition, under the Public Health Service Act, research grants at

an annual level of about $200 thousand were awarded for the development

of a data base in the area of solid waste management.   The Public Health

Service, in cooperation with the American Public Works Association

(APWA), sponsored a national conference on solid wastes research in

December 1963.12  Assistance was provided the APWA in  preparing two

manuals, Munia-ipal Refuse  Disposal and Refuse Collect-ion Practices, both

of which still serve as major guidelines for the design and evaluation of

refuse  collection and disposal systems by public works and health

officials.13.14  The Public Health Service, during the early 1960's,  also

participated with the APWA and State and local agencies in training

programs on solid waste disposal.


                         The Solid Waste Disposal Act

     In a 1965 message to Congress, the President stated:

          Continuing technological progress and improvement
     ^Proceedings;  National  Conference on Solid Waste Research,  Chicago,
Dec.  1963, University of Chicago Center for Continuing Education.   Spe-
cial  Report No.  29-   American Public Works Association, 1964.   228 p.

     ^American  Public Works  Association.   Municipal  refuse disposal.
3d ed.   Chicago, Public Administration Service,  1970.   538 p.

     lifAmerican  Public Works  Association.   Refuse collection practice.
3d ed.   Chicago, Public Administration Service,  1966.   525 p.
                                   11

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          in methods of manufacture, packaging, and marketing
          of consumer products has resulted in an ever-mounting
          increase of discarded material.  We need to seek
          better solutions to the disposal of these wastes.

 In the same message, the President recommended legislation to:

          Assist the States in developing comprehensive
          programs for some form of solid waste disposal.
          Provide for research and demonstration projects
          leading to more effective methods for disposing of
          or salvaging solid wastes.15

     The Congress recognized the increased threat to the health and

well-being of its constitutents by the mounting quantities of solid

wastes generated by all segments of the society.  Too, it recognized the

 rapidly increasing costs  of collection and disposal, the depletion of

some of the country's natural  resources, and the very real threat to the

quality of man's environment.   After consideration of the Nation's solid

waste management problem, the congress formalized its findings as follows,

     The Congress finds —

          (1)  that the continuing technological progress and
          improvement in  methods of manufacture, packaging,
          and marketing of consumer products has resulted in
          an ever-mounting increase, and in a change in the
          characteristics, of the mass of material discarded
          by the purchaser of such products;

          (2)  that the economic and population growth of our
          Nation, and the improvements in the standard of
          living enjoyed  by our population, have required
          increased industrial production to meet our needs,
          and have made necessary the demolition of old
          buildings, the  construction of new buildings, and
     ^Special message to the congress on conservation and restoration
of natural beauty, February 8, 1965.  J_n_ Public papers of the presidents
of the United States; Lyndon B. Johnson,  v. 1.  Washington, U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1966.  p. 163-
                                    12

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          the provision of highways and other avenues of
          transportation, which, together with related industrial,
          commercial, and agricultural operations, have resulted
          in a rising tide of scrap, discarded, and waste
          materials;

          (3)  that the continuing concentration of our
          population in expanding metropolitan and other urban
          areas has presented these communities with serious
          financial, management, intergovernmental, and
          technical problems in the disposal of solid wastes
          resulting from the industrial, commercial, domestic,
          and other activities carried on in such areas;

          (4)  that inefficient and improper methods of
          disposal of solid wastes result in scenic blights,
          create serious hazards to the public health,
          including pollution of air and water resources,
          accident hazards, and increase in rodent and insect
          vectors of disease, have an adverse effect on land
          values, create public nuisances,  otherwise interfere
          with community life and development;

          (5)  that the failure or inability to salvage and
          reuse such materials economically results in the
          unnecessary waste and depletion of our natural
          resources; and

          (6)  that while the collection and disposal of solid
          wastes should continue to be primarily the function
          of State, regional, and local agencies, the problems
          of waste disposal as set forth above have become a
          matter national in scope and in concern and
          necessitate Federal action through financial and
          technical assistance and leadership in the development,
          demonstration, and application of new and improved
          methods and processes to reduce the amount of waste
          and unsalvageable materials and to provide for proper
          and economical solid-waste disposal practices.

To cope with these threats Congress passed  the Solid Waste Disposal  Act

of 1965 (Public Law 89-272) and amended it  in 1968 (PL 90-574)

principally to extend the operations of the original Act.16
           d Waste Disposal  Act Amendment of 1968;  report of the Committee
on Public Works, U.S.  Senate, to accompany S.3201,  90th Cong.,  2d sess.,
Report No. \kkl.  Washington, U.S.  Government Printing Office,  1968.   33  p.
                                    13

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      The two basic purposes for the legislation were stated in the 1965

Act:

           (l)  To initiate and accelerate a national research
           and development program for new and improved methods
           of proper and economic solid-waste disposal, including
           studies directed towards the conservation of natural
           resources by reducing the amount of wastes and
           unsalvageable materials and by recovery and utilization
           of potential resources in solid wastes; and

           (2)  To provide technical and financial assistance to
           State and local governments and interstate agencies in
           the planning, development, and conduct of solid-waste
           disposal programs.17

      There were four distinct products from the passage of this Act, each

furthering the expressed purposes of the Congress:

           (l)  The problem of solid waste disposal was identified as a

national as well as a local issue.

           (2)  The implication was made that the overall quality of

the environment, rather than the more mechanical and restrictive problems

of pollution control and waste disposal, was the central objective.

           (3)  Increased funds were authorized for what had hitherto been

an essentially low-budget operation.

           (4)  The problem, as identified, and the  resources allocated,

required an organization capable of fulfilling these research

responsibi1i ties.

      The Solid Waste Disposal Act divided responsibility between two

Federal Departments:  the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
     17Solid Waste Disposal Act; Title II of Public Law 89-272, 89th
Cong. S.306 October 20, 1965-  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1966. 5 p.

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was given the principal responsibility, and the Department of the  Interior




was made responsible for problems associated with handling and disposing




of those solid wastes  resulting from processing fossil fuels and minerals.




     The Congress authorized the appropriation of $79-95 million




for the five fiscal years from 1966 to 1970, to be provided the Department




of Health,  Education, and Welfare (DHEW)  for carrying out the commitment




in solid waste management at the national level (Figure 1).  For the




same period, the Department of Interior was separately authorized  $4*4-55




million to address the problems of waste disposal resulting from mining




and the processing of minerals and fossil fuels.




     The Act authorized specific action in six areas of need:  (1) grant




support for local and State projects to demonstrate new and improved




waste disposal technology; (2) grant support for the development of




area-wide solid waste management systems to end fragmentation of




responsibilities among small communities; (3) grant support for the




development of State and interstate plans for meeting solid waste  handling




needs;  (4)  research, both direct and grant supported, to establish the




basis for new approaches to solid waste handling; (5) training programs,




both direct and grant supported, to alleviate critical shortages of




trained personnel; (6)  cooperation with public and private agencies,




institutions,  and organizations, and with any industries involved, in




the preparation and the conduct of activities.18
     18Solid Waste Disposal Act.






                                     15

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CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED TO DHEW
      UNDER THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT
20-
18-
§ 16-
N
2
O ,.
a 14-
H
1 12-
3 10-
O
Q
S »•
§ 6-
§ 4-
2-







7






14






19.2





















20 19?5




























            66
70
                            67      68      69

                               FISCAL YEARS

     Figure 1.   Under the Solid Waste Disposal Act  the congress

authorized appropriations at almost $80  million  to  the Department

of Health, Education, and Welfare to begin the national effort toward

economical and  effective management of the 3-3 billion tons generated

annually in the United States.


                                  16

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                          Organization  under PHEW




     Office of Solid Wastes.  Passage of the Act on October 20, 1965,




resulted in the establishment of an Office of Solid Wastes within the




Public Health Service of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.




     The authorities and responsibilities conferred on the Secretary of




Health, Education, and Welfare were delegated to the Surgeon General of




the Public Health Service and, in turn, by him to the Chief, Office of




Solid Wastes.  Four million dollars of supplemental funds were appropriated




by the Congress and apportioned to the Office of Solid Wastes on




January 25, 1966, by which time marked progress had already been made in




staff recruitment and administrative development for the new program.




     The Office of Solid Wastes made the pioneer efforts under the new




Act during its first year.  Operations and the allocation of resources were




generally divided between two broad functions:  the apportionment of




grants; and the conduct of direct operations by the Federal Government.




Grant support was utilized to implement action in five of the six




categories of need assessed by the Congress (see above), while direct action




was also taken in the areas of research, training, and technical




assistance.  This basic framework for operations has been continued with




only minor variation through the several reorganizations of DHEW's solid




wastes program effected since the establishment of the Office of Solid




Wastes on December 3, 1965-




     Solid Wastes Program.  In January 1967, the Office of Solid Wastes




was designated as the Solid Wastes Program within the new National Center




for Urban and Industrial Health with headquarters at Cincinnati, Ohio.






                                    17

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For the next two years, the Program continued to effect the responsibilities




of the Department of Health,  Education,  and Welfare for solid waste




management, under the direction and guidance of the Surgeon General.   As




planned in the original Solid Waste Disposal Act,  these two years  were




a period of increasing activity,  supported by public funds  that  reached




the present level of nearly $20 million  a year.




     Bureau of Solid Waste Management.   In July 1968,  the Public Health




Service was reorganized into  three major health units:   Consumer Protection




and Environmental Health Service,  Health Services  and  Mental  Health




Administration, and National  Institutes  of Health.   The first of these was




formed largely from the Food  and Drug Administration and the former  Bureau




of Disease Prevention and Environmental  Control of the Health Services and




Mental Health Administration.




     On December 20, 1968, announcement  was made in the Federal  Register,




(vol.  33,  No. 2**7) of the organization of the Consumer Protection  and




Environmental Health Service, which consisted of the Food and Drug




Administration, the National  Air Pollution Control  Administration, and




the Environmental Control Administration.  The latter  was composed largely




of two previously existing Centers:  the National  Center for




Radiological Health and the National Center for Urban  and Industrial




Health.  The former Solid Wastes Program, within the latter organization,




was reorganized in January 1969 into the Bureau of Solid Waste




Management, one of five bureaus in the Environmental Control  Administration.




In December 1969, the Consumer Protection and Environmental Health




Service was restructured and  renamed the Environmental Health Service, with






                                    18

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 the Food and Drug Administration being placed elsewhere organizationally

 in the Department.  The  reorganization, however, did not affect this

 Bureau.

     The Bureau of Solid Waste Management:  plans, conducts, and promotes

 research,  investigations, experiments, demonstrations, surveys, and

 studies  relating to the conduct of solid waste programs and development

 and application of new and  improved methods of solid waste storage,

 collection, and disposal; develops new and improved methods of reducing

 the amount of solid waste requiring ultimate disposal, through reuse,

 recycling, and source reduction and provides technical and financial

 assistance to appropriate agencies and organizations in planning,

 developing, and conducting a solid waste management program; collects

 and provides, through publications and special reports, the results and

 professional analyses of research and technically oriented activities

 being conducted in the field of solid waste management; encourages

 cooperative activities in solid waste management by the States and

 local governments and encourages interstate, intrastate, and regional

 solid waste planning.19

     The functions of the three divisions and two offices of the Bureau

 (Figure 2) are described below.

     Division of Demonstration Operations (DDO).  The Division of

 Demonstration Operations plans, develops, conducts, and evaluates through
     19[Lovell, L.  B.]   Solid wastes.   ^Environmental  health planning.
Public Health Service Publication No.  2120.   Washington, U.S.  Government
Printing Office, 1971.   p.  31-36.

-------


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direct activities, grants, contracts, and demonstrations to encourage the




application of new and improved methods, techniques, and equipment for




solid waste management.




     Division of Research and Development (DR&D).  The Division of




Research and Development plans, conducts, and evaluates research concerning




solid waste systems and systems requirements, and new and improved means




of managing as well as reducing the generation of solid waste.  This




division plans, develops, and conducts municipal-scale development




projects to encourage the application of new and improved methods,




techniques, and equipment for solid waste management.  DR&D manages




grants-in-aid programs to combat solid waste problems facing the Nation




and develops operations research techniques to the management of solid




waste systems and plans,  conducts, and evaluates research in the




socioeconomic science and its relationship to solid wastes management




systems.




     Division of Technical Operations (DTO).  The Division of Technical




Operations encourages and supports the planning, development, and conduct




of solid waste management programs through consultation, information,




and technical assistance to public and private agencies, organizations,




and individuals.  DTO provides assistance in the economic, mathematical,




and computer sciences related to the interpretation of solid waste




technology.  This division also manages a program of planning grants to




State and  interstate agencies and fosters implementation.   Another




function of DTO is to collect and evaluate basic statistical data on a
                                    21

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national basis relating to solid wastes, investigate specific problems




through special studies, and to develop criteria for standards, model




ordinances, and regulations.




     Office of Program Development.  The Office of Program Development




assists and advises the Bureau Director in the development, coordination,




and assessment of program planning operations; coordinates and develops




Bureau planning strategy in accordance with EGA policy; identifies the




need for new programs, and develops proposals and mechanisms for their




creation; provides liaison with the Office of Program Development, EGA,




and provides leadership within the Bureau in the discharging of program




planning requirements within ECA guidelines; evaluates program output




with respect to plans and funds, administers and implements PPB




operations, and incorporates planning data into the budget process;




provides Bureau focal point for legislative planning; and conducts




internal program analyses and special studies.




     Office of Information.  The Bureau's Office of Information plans,




directs, and coordinates the dissemination of solid waste information to




the general and professional public, and staff.  Provides necessary




services to develop,  design, review, edit, print, and distribute




Bureau publications resulting from contract, grant, and in-house




activities; directs and operates solid waste management information




retrieval from the world-wide literature.  Develops displays, exhibits,




motion picture films, and other visual materials and reviews and




coordinates public presentations by staff members of the Bureau.






                                    22

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     As of the end of December 1968, there were 180 full-time employees




assigned to the Bureau (Table 1).




     Certain administrative, programming, training, and fiscal functions




are handled centrally by the Environmental Control Administration.  The




administrative details of research and training grants, for example, are




performed in the Office of the EGA Commissioner while the technical




overview is the responsibility of the Bureau.






                                 Fiscal Data
     The general levels of funding to the Department of Health, Education,




and Welfare for solid waste disposal grew from $A.3 million (FY 1966) to




$15.2 million (FY 1970) (Table 2).  Utilization of funds during the five




years has remained relatively constant, proportionally allocated to




support of the five broad categories of effort:  demonstrations, research,




planning, training, and direct operations (Table 3)-




     The initial year of operations under the Solid Waste Disposal  Act




(FY 1966) saw a greater emphasis on demonstration and research grants




than in subsequent years,  with less emphasis on direct operations.




Beginning with FY 1967» the employment of funds in the general categories



has remained about the same;  the major resources supporting demonstration



grants and direct operations, with research and planning grants receiving




the next greatest emphasis, and training grants remaining at a constant



level of 3 percent of the overall  budget.




     These relatively steady  apportionments of the overall funds available




do not reflect the expansion  actually obtained by the increased






                                   23

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authorizations and appropriations during the 1966-1970 period.  Training




grants, as an example, remained a fixed 3 percent of the budget throughout




the 5~year period; increased authorizations over the same period provided




an increase in training grants from $150,000 in FY 1966 to $^90,000 for




FY 1970.  A similar increase in actual, as opposed to proportional, funds




occurred in the other major categories of fiscal effort (Table 3)•




     With the exception of the initial year of operations under the'Solid




Waste Disposal Act, the proportion of funds budgeted and allocated  to




direct operations has also remained constant, with an increase of  available




funds throughout the 5-year period permitting expansion of operations within




the overall  budget.  Separate from the system of grants, the direct




operations of what has become the Bureau of Solid Waste Management  have




involved research, training,  and demonstration development as well  as




technical assistance to State and local governments,  associations,  and




individuals,  as a part of its responsibilities.  These direct operations




had a modest  beginning in the remaining months of Fiscal Year 1966, under




the newly passed Act that also provided the initial  authorization  of funds.




Commencing with Fiscal Year 1967, research became a  multimillion-dollar



effort;  the in-house and directly-supported training  program has grown




to almost $500 thousand annually; technical assistance to both




governmental  and private interests has passed the million-dollar mark;



and the development of demonstration installations and techniques has




increased to  over $750 thousand of expenditure annually.
                                   27

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                                 Cone1 us ion




     The history of Federal Government  activities in solid waste




management under DHEW has been one of innovation, adaptation,  and adherence




to the expressed and implied intent of  Congress.   Operations have been in




response to both the needs set forth in the Solid Waste Disposal Act and




the requirements expressed by State and local governments within the




spirit of that Act.  The level of $20 million a year anticipated in the




original Act was reached in FY 19&9 and slightly reduced for the FY 1970




period.  Most of the States, 5 interstate agencies,  Guam, Puerto Rico,




and the District of Columbia, are participating in the national  problem




of solid waste disposal, through planning grants  for State-wide  surveys




and the development of comprehensive solid waste management systems on




a regional basis.  The solid waste management functions of the national




government are a product of almost five years'  experience and uninterrupted




effort  in a serious and continuing problem area.
                                   28

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                                    Ill




              ACTIVITIES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, 1966-1970






                          Demonstration Operations




     One of the three major responsibilities that were assigned to the




Office of Solid Wastes in pursuance of the objectives set forth in the




Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 was the responsibility for encouragement




and support of projects to demonstrate new and improved methods of solid




waste collection, handling, and disposal.  The Act authorized demonstration




grants to provide up to two-thirds of the funds necessary for local and




State projects to demonstrate new and improved waste-disposal technology.




It also authorized the same level of Federal support for the development




of area-wide solid waste management systems designed to coordinate waste




disposal activities across city and county boundaries, a means of ending




the fragmentation of disposal  responsibility within an area and increasing




the efficiency of disposal  operations.



     In order to administer the provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal




Act of 1965 in the area of demonstration grants,  a Demonstration Grants



Activities section was created within the Solid Wastes Program.  Principal




functions of Demonstration Grants Activities included:  providing advice




about the development of new applications when required; conducting




technical review of new applications for demonstration grants to determine




the feasibility and value of the proposed project; monitoring funded






                                    29

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grant projects during the lifetime of the grant to evaluate progress
and ensure that the appropriate Federal  requirements are met by the
grantee; reporting research results as such results develop during the
lifetime of each grant.  The section, now the Division of Demonstration
Operations, was responsible for the development of necessary administrative
and fiscal procedures for demonstration  grant management and supervision.
     Objectives of the Demonstration Grant Projects.  Two fundamental
types of projects exist under the supervision of the Division of
Demonstration Operations:  projects specifically for demonstration and
study-and-investigat ion projects, which, while they may involve the
construction of small laboratory models  for testing, do not primarily
involve the acquisition or erection of a large physical plant.  Each of
the projects has a particular purpose, and is intended to reach a defined
objective that is one part of the total  solid-waste picture.
     By June 30, 19&9» 102 Federal grants had been made to demonstration
projects that fall into the categories defined by the Solid Waste Disposal
Act of 1965.20>21  These categories are:
     1.  Demonstrations that relate to the development or application of
new and improved solid waste disposal methods, devices, or techniques.
     2.  Study-and-investigat ion projects concerned with municipal or
regional solid waste disposal practices, where such projects may provide
solutions for regional or national solid waste disposal problems.
               . Summaries.
     21Sponagle, Abstracts.
                                    30

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     3-  Study-and-investigat ion projects concerned with municipal or
 regional solid waste disposal practices, where such projects may  lead to
 a demonstration of  improved methods or techniques.
     k.  Study-and-invest!gation projects concerned with a particular
 type of waste, or with a particular solid waste disposal problem,
 practice, or technique, where the findings of such a study or investigation
 may be of significant national  interest and value.
     For a complete description of the funding, objectives, procedures,
 and progress to date of each demonstration grant awarded by the Bureau
 of Solid Waste Management, see the current edition of Public Health
 Service Publication No. 1821, Solid Wastes Demonstration Grant Projects—
 1969, and supplements thereto.22»23
     Achievements.  Section 20k of the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965
 authorized Federal grants-in-aid intended to encourage demonstrations of
 new ideas and technologies in the solid waste disposal field where such
 innovations, while offering the possibility of solutions to particular
 solid waste problems, might involve considerable risk of failure--risks
 of such magnitude as to make local  government or the authorities of a
 small community hesitant to assume the financial burden of testing the
 new idea rather than relying on proven and therefore more predictable,
 albeit less effective or desirable, methods of dealing with solid
wastes.  Such demonstration projects serve to facilitate the practical
    ^Sponagle. Summaries.
     23Sponagle, Abstracts.
                                   31

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application and general acceptance of techniques based on newly-discovered




knowledge;  they provide for the initial, inevitable costs of adjusting




a laboratory project to the demands of full-scale operation in an




unpredictable real world;  and they provide the only effective way of




demonstrating that a new technique or theory can become a practical




addition to the armamentarium of the civil engineer.  In addition,




demonstration projects stimulate public interest and contribute to




public acceptance of such  new techniques as the sanitary landfill; no




amount of explanatory publicity can so effectively demonstrate the




difference between a well-engineered sanitary landfill and a conventional




open-burning dump, for instance, as can the simple inspection of a




sanitary-landfill demonstration project from a passing automobile on a




Sunday drive.




     Projects have been funded demonstrating new technology in the




following broad categories:  storage and collection, sanitary landfill




and reclamation, incinerators and incineration, composting, rail haul,




management of specific wastes, planning for area-wide solid waste




management, and equipment  evaluation and development.




     Storage and Collection.  Statistical analysis indicates the




approximately 75 to 80 percent of the total cost of solid waste




management as presently practiced throughout the United States is related




to storage and collection;  consequently the application of new and more




economical  techniques in this area promises to provide the greatest




immediate financial benefits.






                                   32

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     Sanitary Landfill.  One of the questions asked on the form for the

1968 National Survey of Community Solid Waste Practices, for respondents

who indicated that they used landfill methods to dispose of solid

wastes, was the question "Is this a sanitary landfill?"  Fourteen percent

of the sites surveyed were judged by the interviewers to be sanitary

landfills to the extent that a positive response could be made to this

question.  The survey form had several  other questions, however, which

allowed a check to be made on this response, and when those sites where

water pollution problems or open-air burning of wastes were reported had

been eliminated from the list of sanitary landfills, along with those

sites where each day's accumulated refuse and garbage was not compacted

and covered with earth by the end of the day, it was found that less than

half those respondents who considered their operations to be sanitary

landfills actually met the rather modest engineering requirements

considered, by those familiar with solid waste management, to be minimum

standards for sanitary landfills.24*25

     Clearly, there is a major problem in public education to be dealt

with here.  If even the officials who are in charge of the Nation's solid

waste disposal facilities on the local  level cannot reliably judge whether
     ^Munich, A. J., A.  J.  Klee, and P.  W.  Britton.   Preliminary data
analysis; 1968 national survey of community  solid waste practices.   Public
Health Service Publication No. 1867.   Washington, U.S.  Government Printing
Office, 1968.  483 p.

     25Black, R.  J., A. J. Muhich,  A. J.  Klee,  H. L.  Hickman,  Jr.,  and
R. D. Vaughan.  The national  solid  wastes survey; an  interim report.
[Cincinnati], U.S. Department of Health,  Education, and Welfare,  [1968].
53 P.
                                  33

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or not the sanitary landfill  standards, as they are generally understood,




can be met by the refuse- and garbage-disposal operations directly under




their jurisdiction, then the public at large can hardly be held culpable




for failing to realize that the disposal  of solid wastes can be




accomplished without causing blight, ugliness, and vermin to proliferate.




And until it is generally known that there are solutions to the problems




of pollution and waste that have been raised by the growth of our urban




centers and the increase of our population, there can hardly be the sort




of general support that it will take to put these solutions into




practice.




     It is one of the real strengths of the demonstration grant projects




program that the projects contribute to the solution of this




public-education problem.  Demonstration grants for projects in the area




of land reclamation and sanitary landfill projects, in addition to the




specific  information they provide as to the feasibility and the operating




parameters of particular types of landfills, also serve to acquaint the




general public in the most direct and effective fashion with the results




that can be obtained by the application of new techniques in the area of




sanitary  landfi11.




     Incinerators and Incineration.  Of the approximately 300 large




community incinerator installations  in the United States, 70 percent




are without adequate air-pollution control devices.   It is common




practice  to release incinerator residues and quench waters into the




environment without treatment and without control of  the  long-term




effects.  The 8 percent of solid waste now being dealt with by  incineration

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may have to be increased, as time passes, to deal adequately with the

growth of urban areas where land for landfill is not available on an

economically competitive basis.  All of these considerations point up

the importance of research and development in the area of incinerator

technology.

     Under the demonstration grants activity of the solid wastes

program, a number of grants have been made to advance the technology of

incinerators and at least one interim report has been published by the

Bureau.26

     Composting.   It is difficult to keep all matters of public concern

in the public eye continuously, and at the present time air pollution

and water are receiving much publicity.  Nor are these problems anything

less than urgent.  But other threats to the biosphere also exist, and must

be given due consideration by the public and by solid waste management

authorities.  The exhaustion of the earth's natural deposits of coal,

oil, metal  ores,  and other substances vitally necessary to the maintenance

of, not only civilization as we know it, but also the viability of life

on earth, has been a source of concern for many years.  In the long run,

it is as important to prevent the loss of irreplaceable soi1-ferti1izing

elements such as  phosphorous from the land as it is to prevent the

poisoning of our atmosphere and our oceans.  One of the ways in which

the cycle of elements can be maintained is through the use of
     ^Kaiser,  E.  R.   Evaluation of the Melt-Zit high-temperature
incinerator;  operation test report, August 1968.  Cincinnati, U.S.
Department of Health,  Education, and Welfare, 1969.   [116 p.]
                                   35

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compost!ng--the treatment of solid wastes so that they can be used as




soil conditioners and be returned to the earth.  Thus, the minerals that




are removed by growing plants would be replaced in the soil rather than




irretrievably lost in the oceanic abyss.




     Only two demonstration grant projects have been related to composting




as a method of solid waste disposal, but this is not in any way a




minimization of the importance or the potential of this approach to




managing solid waste.  In coordination with research and development being




conducted in connection with the problem of water pollution, composting




may provide solutions to problems that cannot be dealt with in any other




way.




     The first of these projects, demonstrating the reliability, suitability,




economy, feasibility, and nuisance-free operation of a high-rate mechanical




composting system when used to dispose of the refuse from a medium-sized




community, has been brought to completion.  This demonstration was




carried out by the Gainesville Municipal Waste Conversion Authority of




Gainesville, Florida.  It consisted of the construction of a compost plant




designed to process 20 tons of refuse per hour, using municipal refuse




from the city of Gainesville and Alachua County in combination with either




raw or digested sewage sludge.  Records were kept of the amounts of




refuse and sludge processed, of the amounts of compost produced, and of




the noncontestable material salvaged from the municipal refuse input.  A




complete cost analysis was made, covering operating and maintenance costs




of  the equipment.  The efficiency of the equipment was evaluated,




operating characteristics and maintenance requirements were determined,






                                   36

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and the health of compost-plant employees was monitored to determine if

occupational hazards existed.  Analyses were made of the biological,

chemical, physical, and bacteriological nature of the compost in the raw,

partially-digested, and finished states, and the final product was

compared with commercially-available organic fertilizers.  The project

was completed by the end of 1968, and the results were published by

the Bureau of Solid Waste Management.27

     Rail Haul.  Two study-and-investigation project grants have been

made to advance the evaluation of the costs and the benefits to be

expected of the use of railroads to transport solid wastes from

densely populated urban areas to areas where sanitary landfill is not

uneconomic due to high land cost.  The groundwork has been firmly

established, unpromising alternatives have been identified and discarded,

and the study is concentrating on three major assumptions:  that transfer

stations will collect and process the waste in the generating communities,

that rail facilities will be used—perhaps with containerization of

some types of wastes — to move the processed waste to remote sites, and

that final disposal of the wastes will be accomplished by use of sanitary

landfill techniques at carefully prepared sites.

     Studies of the transportation of refuse by rail show that rail

transport should be feasible, under current conditions, over distances

of from 10 to ^tOO miles.  Design of special railroad cars to facilitate
       Gainesville Municipal Waste Conversion Authority, Inc.  Gainesville
compost plant; an interim report.  Cincinnati, U.S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, 1969.  [3^5 p.]


                                   37

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the transfer of refuse and to speed loading and discharge is also being

pursued.28

     Management of Specific Wastes.  Projects concerned with specialized

techniques for dealing with particular types of waste are aimed at a

small volume of the total  waste load that must be dealt with.  Failure

to deal adequately with this small  volume of material can lead to

problems  of appalling magnitude.

     Automobiles,  for instance, are becoming a more and more difficult

problem to solid waste management authorities across the Nation.29  Recent

developments in the steel  industry  have reduced the demand for scrap

metal from automobiles.  Disposal of abandoned vehicles has generally been

undertaken by scrap-metal  dealers as a profit-making enterprise,  but

this means of automobile disposal is becoming less available to

municipalities as  scrap metal margins of profit decline.  A

study-and-investigat ion project has been undertaken on this subject,

the results of which include a set  of guidelines for industry

standards.

     A demonstration project is being conducted to show the advantages

of up-to-date techniques in the disposal of manure from dairy farms. In
     ^American Public Works Association Research Foundation.   Rail
transport of solid wastes; a feasibility study; interim report:   phase
one.  Cincinnati, U.S. Department of Health,  Education, and Welfare,
1969.  168 p.
     29Management Technology Inc.  Automobile scrapping processes and needs
for Maryland; a final report on a solid waste demonstration.  Public Health
Service Publication No. 2027.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing  Office,
1970.  6k p.


                                   38

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this project anaerobic lagoons are used for storage of manure during




seasons when use of the manure as fertilizer is not possible, with




disposal of the manure being accomplished by means of scheduled




application of farmland.



     Problems in disposing of waste wood and other bulky burnable objects




may be subject to solution by use of techniques currently being




demonstrated by another Bureau grant.




     Planning for Area-Wide Solid Waste Management.  Many study-and-




investigation grants were made under the provisions of the Solid Waste




Disposal Act for the support of management surveys and development of




consolidated area-, region-, and county-wide solid waste management plans.




It is hoped that these plans will soon lead to implementation of the




proposals for consolidated collection  and disposal programs as indicated




by the results of the surveys.  These  studies point out the disadvantages




of fragmented refuse disposal systems  and, thereby, illustrate the




advantages, economics, and overall system improvements that may be gained




through regional solid waste planning  and management.  The Bureau has




already published too many of these reports to cite them individually;




the Bureau's completed publications listing is available.30  Mention of




a few of these reports, however, will  suggest the range of studies and




invest!gat ions.




     The Quad City (New Jersey) regional project effectively demonstrated




the establishment of a regional solid  waste district—one of the first
       Bayless,  Publications of the Federal  solid waste management program.






                                   39

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in the nation.31  The Des Moines (Iowa)  project provided substantial

information on both the detailed organization of an intergovernmental

solid waste collection and disposal  agency and the detailed plan and

analysis of the collection routes and system.32  The New Orleans

(Louisiana) project, very comprehensive in nature and covering one of  the

larger metropolitan areas, provided  one of the first attempts at developing

a master plan for solid waste collection and disposal.33

The Genesee County (Michigan) project demonstrated the manner in which

communities and industry can work together to develop alternatives for

improving present solid waste practices.  These studies and others like

them are expected to serve as blueprints for other regions throughout

the country.34

     Equipment Evaluation.  As new equipment is developed for the

management of solid wastes and comes on the market or is reduced to

standard engineering practice, unbiased evaluations of the performance

and utility of such equipment becomes increasingly valuable.  Grants by
     ^Quad-City solid wastes project; an interim report,  June 1, 1966
to May 31, 1967.  Cincinnati, U.S.  Department of Health, Education,  and
Welfare, 1968.  [181 p.]
     32Henningson, Durham & Richardson, Inc.   Collection and disposal  of
solid waste for the Des Moines metropolitan area; a systems engineering
approach to the overall problem of solid waste management; an interim
report.  Cincinnati, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,,
1968.   [324 p.]

     33Albert Switzer & Associates, Inc., and Greenleaf/Telesca.   Master
plan for solid waste collection and disposal; tri-parish metropolitan
area of New Orleans; final report on a solid waste management demonstration.
Public Health Service Publication No.  1932.  Washington, U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1969-   [359 p.]
     3ltSolid waste disposal study;  technical  report; Genesee County,
Michigan, June  1968.  Cincinnati, U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare,  1969-  [251 p.]


                                   ko

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the Bureau of Solid Waste Management are made in this area in order to




expedite the development of equipment,  the incorporation of improvements,




the correction of faults, and the acceptance of valuable innovations by




solid waste management personnel  at all  levels of local  and State




government.




     Miscellaneous Projects.  Several miscellaneous projects, which show




promise of developing solutions for national solid waste disposal




problems, or of contributing to the solution of such problems, have been




approved for support by the Division of  Demonstration Operations.  These




projects are of a varied nature,  and include training programs,




demonstrations aimed at segments  of the  general public other than those




directly concerned with solid waste management, and projects directed to




the consideration of special situations  existing in particular




ci rcumstances.




     Conclus ion.   Demonstration project  grants have an important part in




the Bureau of Solid Waste Management program,  allowing an early start to




be made on the implementation of  the measures to deal with the nationwide




solid waste management problem.  Final  results from the  many projects




currently in progress will be of  immeasurable value in identifying fertile




avenues of research, mobilizing popular  support, enlisting the aid of the




scientific and technical community, and  pointing up the  basic problems




that must be solved.






         ACTIVITIES IN SOLID WASTE  MANAGEMENT, 1966-1970 (cont'd.)




                            Research Operations




     The earliest research undertaken in solid waste management was






                                  41

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carried out through research grants beginning in FY I960.35  The intramural

research program was not initiated until  FY 196?.36  Early efforts were

applied to the planning for the present experimental  compost plant facility

now located in Johnson City, Tennessee, and the development of the

laboratory operations presently located in two sites  in Cincinnati.  These

laboratories were established to perform necessary service functions to

support other efforts of the Bureau, as well as to begin the conduct of

intramural research and development for better solid  waste management.

The tasks associated with analyzing samples from field investigations

conducted as part of studies sponsored by various  elements of the

Bureau represent a significant, but ofttimes unheralded, effort.

     Early in fiscal year 1968, the first modest resources were applied

to several intramural research and development projects.  The efforts

were carried out by the laboratory facilities located at 5555 Ridge Avenue

and at 5335 Center Hill Avenue, Cincinnati.  The Office of Program

Development coordinates the efforts made in extramural projects with the

efforts undertaken by the staff of the Division of Research and

Development within these facilities.   In several instances, cooperative

work with other governmental agencies has been undertaken.

     Research and Development Matrix.  The research and development efforts

for better solid waste management are organized to attack the problem in
      35Lefke, L. W., A. G. Keene, R. A. Chapman, and H. Johnson, comps.
Summaries of solid waste research and training grants--1970.  Public Health
Service Publication No. 1596.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office.
(In press.)
      36Breidenbach, A. W., comp.  Summaries of solid waste intramural
research and development projects.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1971.  2k p.

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segments that would form the basis for a research and development




matrix  (Figure 3).  A discussion of the segments of this matrix will provide




an introduction to the national research and development program carried




out under the authority of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.




     Five sources of solid waste have been identified.  These are:




residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and  institutional.




Solid waste, regardless of the point of origin, must be managed through




a series of unit operations.  Research and development  is needed in every




phase of such operations.  The following paragraphs discuss the problem




from the point of view of the individual segments of the matrix.




     Source Reduction.  All solid waste has a distinct point of origin;




that is, the location where the substances are discarded.  It follows




that this point of origin, if accurately defined, may provide a key for




the modification of some of our present solid waste patterns.  Source




reduction encourages the concept of decreasing the amounts of solids




entering the waste stream at the very point of generation.  We are all




aware of items which become wastes soon after we acquire them.  They




appear as boxes, cases, wrappers,  bags, bottles, cans, envelopes,  and a




myriad of other items.  Thoughtful consideration, education, and




decisions are required if we are to stabilize or reduce the amount of




solid wastes generated per capita.  The effort, ambition, and Ingenuity




that are applied to the design of today's attractive packaging is  a




credit to those who compete for our various consumer markets.  The




packaging industry should be encouraged to apply the same level  of




ingenuity and innovation to the design of packaging that might be  readily

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                                                           Volume
                                                          Reduction
                                                          Processing
                     Recycle,
                   Salvage and
                    Utilization
                                                        Land and Sea
                                                           Disposal
Conventional pathways

Proposed pathways
                           7  Research Services
     Figure 3-  The  research and development program matrix  developed

by the  Bureau of Solid  Waste Management.

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reclaimed or, at least, that might lessen the solid waste management

problem.  Some groups have begun action in this direction.

     Storage.  Every producer of solid wastes must provide a method of

holding or storing the wasted material while awaiting collection.  Even

the housewife with a garbage grinder is no exception, in that the grinder

eliminates only the problem of garbage storage.  The storage system

employed has  a direct effect upon the environment of the area in which

the waste is produced.  Poor storage of solid wastes provides sustenance

for rodents and insects, produces unpleasant odors, provides fuel for

fires in and around the storage areas, and prevents the efficient and

economic collection of the solid waste materials.37 All aspects of solid

waste management may have their effect upon the environment, but

storage and collection are more nearly related to the solid waste

problem as viewed by the average citizen.  This problem literally is at

the citizen's very door.  Inadequacies affect him directly, quickly,

and with great impact.

     It should be noted that solid waste storage—except for larger

containers—has not changed appreciably since man found it necessary to

remove his waste from his immediate environment.   The static storage

system has perpetuated a collection system, for the most part, of

similar anti qui ty.

     Collection and Transport.  The collection and transport of solid

wastes is a connecting link between storage and processing or disposal
      37[Black, R. J.]  Safe and sanitary home refuse storage.  Public
Health Service Publication No. 183.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office.   Revised 1962, 1968.  6 p.

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and is affected by each of these.  Poor storage and illogical  disposal




practices adversely affect the collection process.  It is estimated that




70 to 80 percent of the cost of solid waste management is accounted for




by the collection and transport aspect.  This portion of the service has




been considered disposal of waste by the citizen.   He has demanded




rapid removal  of solid waste from his property—considering the job




complete when  the truck has disappeared around the corner.  It seems




natural, then, that funds for collection services  have been more obtainable




than those for ultimate disposal sites.  Funds, however, have been used




mostly for more trucks, bigger trucks, and increases in manpower.  New




techniques for collection, in combination with improved storage, are




necessary to management of the burgeoning solid waste problem.  Land




that is suitable for disposal of solid wastes is rapidly being preempted




for other purposes.  The people in suburbia naturally resent the




placement of disposal sites nearby.  The noise and impact of concentrated




vehicular traffic poses additional problems in area and route selection.




For these reasons and many more, the transportation of solid wastes is




becoming increasingly expensive and time-consuming.  A comprehensive




evaluation of  collection and transport, evaluated  as a system, can often




produce economics of operation and design so that  service can be




improved without attendant degradation of the environment.  Investigations




conducted within the recent National Survey of Community Solid Waste




Practices show that for lA percent of the communities reporting, both




separate and combined collection are used sporadically and unpredictably,




an inconsistency not in keeping with economic operation.  The survey also

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indicates that over 12 percent of the citizens are not served by any

collection system. 38  Improvements in collection and transport systems

technology should provide these areas of economic and environmental

conflict with improved service systems.39

     Volume Reduction Processing.  With urban land utilization, land

disposal areas for solid waste are becoming scarce.  Sanitary landfill,

the technique of the engineered disposal of solid wastes on land, reduces

the volume of wastes as a function of normal operation.  Any process or

system that will further reduce the volume of wastes is extremely desirable.

Such a process could add years of additional service to existing landfill

sites, reducing the need for future sites.  Volume reduction processing

systems, such as incineration and composting, whether or not byproducts

of the operation are fully exploited, may be the method preferred for

decreasing refuse volume.  Such systems at the present time may produce

incidental pollution, thus diminishing their value to the community.

All too often air pollution, water pollution, and vector problems

accompany attempts at volume reduction.  Although present systems may

be employed without degrading the environment, often the cost of

protectionTprecludes their use.  Studies of existing methods and
      38Black, R. J., A. J. Muhich, A. J. Klee, H. L. Hickman, Jr., and
R. D. Vaughan.  The national solid wastes survey; an interim report.
[Cincinnati], U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, [1968].
53 p-  Reprinted in Proceedings; Third Annual Meeting,  Institute for
Solid Wastes, Miami Beach, Oct. 2k, 1968.  Chicago, American Public
Works Association,  p. 2k-k3.

      39Ralph Stone and Company, Inc., Engineers.  A study of solid waste
collection systems comparing one-man with multi-man crews; final report.
Public Health Service Publication No. 1892.   Washington, U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1969.  175 p.

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innovations in similar techniques are sought to provide economic and

adaptable concepts in volume reduction methods to preserve land areas.

The 1968 National  Survey of Community Solid Waste Practices indicated

that less than 9 percent of the citizens are served by incinerators,

the major method of volume reduction prior to disposal.^  Presently, more

than 80 percent of these incinerators are degrading the environment with

air pollution, water pollution, visual blight, and vector proliferation.

     Land and Sea Disposal.  Approximately 6 percent of the nation's

land disposal sites are acceptable by present environmental standards.

The open, sometimes burning, dump is the rule rather than the exception.

New and better methods of solid waste disposal upon the land must be

developed to preserve environmental  integrity.  Presently acceptable

methods must be evaluated and adopted by even the smaller governmental

entities.  Cost-benefit methods must be applied to the utilization of .

land as well as water and air.   But as more stringent regulations for

land disposal techniques are applied, there is a tendency for government

and industry alike to seek other areas of ultimate disposal.  Communities

and industries in coastal areas view the sea as a natural sink for solid

wastes.  Because of the  immediate and continuing pressure to use the sea,

we need factual information on the extent of sea disposal priorities.  We

must consider, from a base of scientific data, the consequences of sea

disposal upon the marine environment and the ecology of the sea.4
      t+0Black, et al.  The national solid wastes survey; an interim report.

      'tlSmith, D. D., and R. P. Brown.  Ocean   disposal of barge-delivered
liquid and solid wastes from U.S. coastal cities.  Public Health Service
Publication No. 2113-  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office.  (In
press.)

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     Reclamation.  Several factors justify projects in the reclamation

category:  (l) the volumes and weights of solid waste requiring ultimate

disposal can be decreased by removing portions of the wastes for salvage,

reuse, or recycling; (2) some value does remain in the materials

heretofore discarded; (3) the basic raw materials used in the production

of goods are lost to us permanently when solid wastes are disposed of by

the methods presently applied.1*2  Pertinent salvaging techniques are

generally too costly to provide the incentive of profit or a marginal

cost return.  Conservation of our national resources, including land

areas for disposal and reclamation of despoiled land, may be realized

through the development of adequate mechanical sorting and classifying

devices.  New methods of utilization made possible by innovations in

recycling and reclaiming materials present in the waste stream may prove

advantageous.  Regardless of the location of the resource, recycling, or

reclaiming operation, materials removed at any time will  ultimately

reduce the final  disposal quantity.  This factor alone may prove timely

as our national production rate of wastes is increasing.   Naturally, one

of the first sources of recyclable material is any process that produces

a large quantity of waste products which are of uniform,  consistent

quality.  As separation and classification techniques become more

sophisticated and efficient, materials intimately mixed with other wastes
     It2Drobny, N. L., H. E. Hull, and R. F. Testin.  Recovery and
utilization of municipal solid waste; a summary of available cost and
performance characteristics of unit processes and systems.  Public Health
Service Publication No. 1908.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office,
1971•   118 p.

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may assume new economic importance.43  The recycling and reuse of our

natural resources is a basic tenet, held by all, yet unfortunately

followed by few.  Present attempts at these reuse methods have been

1imited--usually to indiscriminate hand-picking by unfortunate

individuals who are looking for more satisfactory employment.  Once

solid waste is received at a disposal site, only a small portion is

recycled.

     Research Services.  Since most solid waste is unusable or unwanted,

there has been a normal reluctance to identify quantities and sources

or to develop methods of characterizing, in any meaningful way, the

discards themselves.  Before success can be obtained in improving solid

waste management, many basic questions must be answered.  A few of these

are:   (l) What are the normal characteristics of solid waste?  (2) How

can representative samples of such a heterogeneous mixture be made?  (3)

What analytic methods should be used to define these characteristics?

(4) Do pesticides and other toxic materials persist in solid wastes?

(5) What are the potential health hazards  in a given solid waste

management system?

     The answers to these and other questions are of concern to all

engaged  in research and development.  Studies in this segment of research

and development are designed to provide the basic tools which are

necessary to solve the problems represented in the other segments of the

matrix.
      ^Engdahl, R.  B.  Solid waste processing; a state-of-the-art report
on  unit operations  and processes.  Public Health Service Publication No.
1856.  Washington,  U.S. Government Printing Office,  1969.  12 p.
                                   50

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     Modes of Funding.  There are four methods of acccmplishing  research

and development that can be employed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act

of 1965.  These can be listed as:  intramural efforts, contract efforts,

research grant contributions, and demonstration grant activities.44  The

usefulness of these modes of funding—within a mission-oriented,

matrix-directed program--depends upon the urgency, scale, complexity, and

resource requirements of the tasks to be accomplished.  The  following

paragraphs will discuss the first three of these modes of funding as they

have been applied to the solid waste management problem by this Bureau.

The fourth mode of funding, demonstration grant activities,  has been

discussed previously.

     Intramural Research.  Topics for intramural exploration have a

high degree of flexibility, because control of project direction is

continuously close to the work itself.  Success with intramural work

is dependent upon the ability to acquire competent investigators and

managers, as well as suitable space and equipment within a reasonable

time period.  Intramural  research must be supported by top-flight

personnel recruitment and procurement services.

     An example of an intramural research project is the project to

design and test a high-temperature incinerator for small-sized

population units.  The project is directly associated with the needs for
           a complete description of research projects, including funding,
description of objectives, and progress to date, see the current editions
of Public Health Service Publication Nos. 1596, 1821, 1897, and Breidenbach,
A. W.  Summaries of solid waste intramural research and development projects,
Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971.  2k p.
                                  51

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new concepts  in  refuse  incineration that will present alternatives to

conventional  incineration techniques.   In the current phase of the

project, the  design of  the  incinerator  is complete, and procurement of

necessary parts  is in progress.45  It is anticipated that the incinerator

will soon be  assembled  and  testing will begin.  The potential benefit

of this project, if successful, will be an adequate means of incineration

for communities  in the  10,000-to-50,000 population bracket.  .

     Another  intramural research project has as its objective definition

of the microbiological  quality of the total effluent and immediate

improvement of current- and to-be-developed incineration processes.

Microbiological  data are being taken to form baseline information for

future use in assessing the efficacy of new and modified incineration

processes.46  Five incinerators have now been tested, and we anticipate

that in another  year we will have the information from a sufficient

number of sites  to establish the needed baseline information.

     Contract Research.  Contract research minimizes the space and

personnel  considerations inherent in intramural research and permits

mutual  agreement as to what fs to be accomplished before the contract is

negotiated.   Such research requires cTose supervision by a knowledgeable
     45Brefdenbach.  Summaries of sal id waste intramural research and
development projects.  See also, Kirrg,  D. A.  Development of a high-tempera-
ture, low capacity refuse incinerator;  a Division of Research and Development
open-file progress report (WP-03-68-08).  [Cincinnati], U.S. Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, 1970.  29 p.  [Restricted distribution.]
     46Peterson, M. L.  Pathogens associated with solid waste processing;
a progress report.   [Cincinnati], U..S.  Environmental Protection Agency,
1971.  26 p.


                                  52

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and, in most cases, senior scientist or engineer.  The contract is a legal

document, and those engaged in contract research are looked upon as

ex-offi cio members of the intramural research team.  The variety and

extent of our research contracts are promising signs of a coming

expansion of solid waste technology and fruitful business-government

research relationship.47

     An example of contract research is the subscale experiment program

for the Combustion Power Unit-^00.48  These experiments are a planned

follow-up to feasibility studies completed during fiscal year 1969.

This study showed that it may be economically and technically feasible

to use the waste heat from the controlled fluid-bed incineration of

municipal solid waste to generate electricity with the aid of a gas

turbine.  The subscale experiments will permit evaluation of the new

principles in combustion as well as particulate reduction necessary to

the successful implementation of this concept.  By the end of fiscal

year 1970 we expect to have the information necessary to permit a

decision on the construction and testing of a prototype power-generating

incinerator.  Success with this particular project would result in

substantial reduction of costs in volume reduction by incineration.

     A second example of the Bureau's contract research is a study of

the relationship between packaging materials and waste disposal.  This
     ^demons, C. A., and R. J. Black.  Summaries of solid wastes program
contracts, July 1, 1965"June 30, 1968.  Public Health Service Publication
No. 1897.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969.  k6 p.
Supplement (insert), July 1, 1968--June 30, 1970.  38 p.

     ^Combustion Power Company, Inc.  Combustion power unit-^00; CPU-^00;
a technical abstract.  Rockville, Md., U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare,  19&9. 15 p.
                                   53

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study determined the present proportions for types and volumes of

packaging materials and indicated trends to the year 1976, with

anticipated effects on solid waste management problems.^9  Means of making

changes in packaging to mitigate such problems were suggested.  The

work accomplished is the necessary first step toward the objective of

redirecting these materials away from the waste stream and thus reducing

the amount of waste remaining to be managed.  With the basic data

available from this effort, it should be possible to initiate definitve

studies and move further toward the objective of minimizing solid waste

management problems associated with packaging materials.

     Research Grants.  This mode of research provides the investigator

with a high degree of freedom.  The grantor has but modest control over

the direction of the research, once the funds are awarded.  Reports and

publications are related to the freedom of the investigator and are not

counted on in the same manner as in a time-sequenced research and

development program.  Research grants can provide excellent opportunities

for exploratory research of high-risk concepts where some initial

free-lance investigative efforts minimally related to a time-sequenced

matrix are desirable.  Thus, the Bureau of Solid Waste Management supports

a wide variety of research projects through the grant mechanism.50
     lf9Darnay, A., and W. E. Franklin.  The role of packaging in solid
waste management, 1966 to 1976.  Public Health Service Publication No.
1855.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969.  205 P-

     50Lefke.  Summaries of solid wastes research and training grants.

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     An example of research grant effort is that being conducted at the




University of Pennsylvania on pipe transport of domestic solid wastes.




Objectives are to investigate the application of known technology of




solid transport in pipes for the collection and removal of solid waste




as well as economic comparison with truck collection systems.  This




basic research on a new and radically different collection system has




potential application not only in future model cities but may wel'l be




feasible to replace existing collection systems in established cities,




if the cost of this installation is amortized over a 50-year period.




     Another example of effort being conducted through the research




grant mechanism is the grant entitled "Pyrolysis of Solid Municipal




Wastes."  This work, being performed by the City of San Diego, has as




its objective the investigation of the feasibility of pyrolysis as an




economic method of decreasing the volume of solid wastes, the production




of useful by-products, and the determination of the optimum conditions




for operation of the process.




     Characterization studies have been made to form the basis of




pilot-plant charge materials.  The municipal solid wastes are being



pyrolyzed at various temperatures, and the resulting solid, liquid,




and gas products collected and analyzed.  Typical  samples have been




pyrolyzed at temperatures of 90 F, 1,200 F, 1,500 F, and 1,700 F, using a




sample density of 5-55 lb per cu ft.  The products to date consist of




gases, liquid pyroligneous acids, and somewhat contaminated charcoal.




     Conclusion.  It is hoped that through research and development




we may devise new and improved technology which will help in the






                                  55

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management of a variety of solid wastes generated within the United

States.  These techniques, however, cannot effectively mitigate the

present problem of poor solid waste management unless four additional

elements can be assured:  (l) increased awarness and concern of the

average citizen for his individual, community, and corporate solid

waste management problems51; (2) cooperative regional and community

action--through professional leadership--to manage solid wastes

effectively; (3) the efforts in college and university of faculty and

students, who possess the ingenuity and innovative expertise, to bring

about new solutions; and  (4) the well-known capability of the industries

that form the backbone of American technological progress.  Thus, if the

citizen, the community, the university, and industry will help to create

and to test a new technology, the millions of tons of wastes generated

each year can perhaps be channeled, used,  recycled, managed, and

transformed into millions of tons of American assets.


          ACTIVITIES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, 1966-1970 (cont'd.)

                             Technical Operations

     The formalized activities of the technical services branch of the

Office of Solid Wastes began with the establishment of Cincinnati-based

operations  in August 1966.  At that time,  the technical services

activity was structured into two, and later into four, sections:  planning,
     51National Association of Counties Research Foundation.  Citizen
support for solid waste management.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1970.  20 p.  [Also published as chap. 8 of Public Health Service
Publication No. 2084.  In press.]
                                   56

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engineering investigations, chemistry and biology, and operations research.




When the Office of Solid Wastes was reorganized as the Solid Wastes Program




in 1967, a number of other changes took place.  The chemistry and




biology section was transferred to the research and development activity;




the operations research and planning sections were formed into the




systems and operations planning activity; and the engineering investigations




section became the technical services activity.




     The most recent reorganization, in early 19&9, established the




Division of Technical Operations by merging the systems and operations




planning and technical services activities with the responsibility



for technical assistance, planning grants direction, planning assistance,




basic data development, establishment of standards and criteria and




the application of the management and mathematical sciences to solid




waste management.




     The Division of Technical Operations was organizationally




structured into four branches to carry out its portion of the Bureau




of Solid Waste Management's program:  Technical Assistance and




Investigations Branch, Operational Analysis Branch, Basic Data Branch,




and Systems Management Branch.  Technical advisors serve as the primary



technical resource to the Division on particularly complex solid waste




problems and assist in the review and coordination of Division projects.




     Technical Assistance and Investigation Branch.  Provides




consultation, advice and assistance to public and private organizations,




agencies, and individuals in the development and conduct of solid waste




management systems.






                                    57

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     Basic Data Branch.  Develops, collects, and interprets basic




data related to solid waste management systems through the conduct of




technical studies and evaluations, cooperationj^it^r related agencies, and




the operation of the national data network.




     Systems Management Branch.   Manages a program of planning grants




to State and interstate agencies and assists in the planning and




implementation of solid waste management systems through consultation;




promulgation of recommended guidelines, model legislation, ordinances




and codes; application of the management sciences.




     Operational Analysis Branch.  Applies mathematical and social




sciences to the solution of solid waste problems and provides assistance




to public and private organizations, agencies, and individuals through




the use of the physical, mathematical, and social sciences.




     The Division of Technical Operations (DTO) is charged with the




primary responsibility of providing the assistance authorized in the Act,




and shares the responsibility for investigations, surveys, and other




studies with other divisions of the Bureau.  The Division is concerned




with the collection, interpretation, dissemination, and application of




knowledge to solve present problems to achieve improvements of




operations presently considered to be unacceptable, or to further



upgrade acceptable operations.




     Fulfillment of DTO goals requires that the Division's activities




be intimately involved with the ongoing technical operations of existing




and proposed solid waste management systems.  The activities to bring




about the needed improvements with the present state of solid waste






                                     58

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technology require field efforts to attempt immediate solutions, the




study and analysis of existing technology, the collection and




dissemination of basic data as needed for problem solving, and the




investigation of methodologies from related fields for possible application




to solid waste management.




     Program activities were analyzed and evaluated in late FY 19&9,




and the Division formulated a long-range program plan which was




incorporated into the Bureau's program management plan.  The plan was




implemented in FY 1970.




     The program is designed to help meet the long- and short-range




objectives as exemplified by a problem matrix (Table k), and to support




assistance activities, the management of the planning grant programs,




the collection, analysis, and application of the needed basic data for




problem solving, the  interpretation and application of new emerging




technology, and the training of DTO personnel  to develop the skills




needed to meet the responsibilities of the Division.




     Each DTO project may be easily referenced to the matrix to




illustrate the interrelationships of each project to the existing problems




in solid waste management and to meet the Bureau goals. The matrix



displayed was published in the 5-year project plan Issue Study on Solid



Wastes, by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, in



August 1969.




     The provision of assistance by the Bureau as authorized by the




Act is through both direct and indirect response to requestors




(Figure 4).  The direct assistance response is provided by contact






                                   59

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       BUREAU OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE CYCLE
   DIRECT

ASSISTANCE
                   .THE PROBLEM AND RECEPTOR

                          (OPERATIONS)
                              w

                              03
                              o
                              Di
                              Q.
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       Figure k.  The provision of assistance  by the Bureau of Solid



  Waste Management, as authorized by the Solid Waste Disposal  Act,  is



  by both  direct and indirect  response to requestors.
                                61

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between Bureau personnel and the receptors.  The indirect assistance is




provided by the collection and dissemination of information and data




related to the various aspects of solid waste management.




     There are, of course, significant interrelationships between the




two forms of assistance.  Knowledge gained from intramural projects is




applied directly to the field by the direct assistance staff and




indirectly by Bureau publications.  The experiences gained by the




direct technical assistance activities provides a feedback to the




intramural projects for data and information needs and to the research




and development programs for new technology needs.  Consequently, the




direct and indirect assistance activities are closely interrelated to




create a dynamic, comprehensive approach to achieving a significant




portion of the Bureau mission.




     Planning Grants.  The effectiveness of the communities of this




Nation in the sanitary disposal of more than a billion pounds of solid




wastes daily is determined, in a large part, by the amount and quality of




planning that takes place, and inter- and intra-community cooperation




that is effectuated.  Under present practices, it remains the State's




responsibility to develop a State solid waste management plan which



encourages, guides, and accommodates local and regional  solid waste




planning efforts.




     Prior to I960, few States had operative solid waste programs, and it




was partly in recognition of this that Congress included under the Solid




Waste Disposal Act the provision of grants to State and interstate




agencies of up to 50 percent of the cost of developing solid waste






                                   62

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plans.  The first of these grants was awarded on June 1, 1968, and since

then 41 States, plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, as

well as 5 interstate agencies have been awarded over $5 million in matching

grants to plan for effective solid waste management.  These grants

represent a combined total of 129 project years and 640 man-years.  The

funds have been divided mainly among:  survey (60%), planning (10%),

and other activities (30%), such as public relations and development of

legislation.52

     The prime objective of the State and interstate grant is to foster

comprehensive Statewide programs in planning for the handling and

disposal of solid wastes.  In developing their plan, the grantees

consider such factors as population growth, urban and metropolitan

development, land use planning,  water pollution control, air pollution

control, regional disposal programs, and the management of solid

wastes in general.

     It was recognized early that adequate planning could not go on

without reliable data on current solid waste practices. The Bureau

and the cooperating States jointly developed necessary survey forms and

a manual of instructions for conducting an on-going survey to gather

solid waste statistics.  The collected data is processed by the Bureau

for the States and returned to the States for their individual use.
     52Toftner, R. 0., D. D. Swavely, W. T. Dehn, and B. L. Sweeney,
comps.   State solid waste planning grants, agencies, and progress--1970;
report of activities through June 30, 1970.  Public Health Service
Publication No. 2109.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971
26 p.


                                  63

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The data is serving as the basis for the National Survey of Community

Solid Waste practices; an interim report on the survey was presented

in October 1968.

     Planning grant recipients render a yearly report to the Bureau of

Solid Waste Management.53  Grants usually are made for a period of three

years.  Because of different levels of effort, together with

different starting dates according to the award of the planning grants,

these reports show a broad range of progress and accomplishments, with

the common element being that the first effort of each grantee has been

to survey solid waste practices and problems within his jurisdiction.

Usually, when there has been time to do so, grantees have actively

promoted legislation and the appropriate administrative regulations for

more effective control of solid waste activities.  They have also

provided training for agency staffs involved with solid wastes and have

coordinated their programs with those of other related State, regional,

and local planning units.  All of these efforts are aimed at the

formulation of comprehensive solid waste management plans.  Many other

corollary activities are carried on as a desirable implementation to

pi anni ng.51+

     A good legislative apparatus for dealing with the problem does not,

of course, by itself solve the problem.  There is a built-in resistance
     53Toftner, et al.   State solid waste planning grants, agencies,
and progress--1970.

     5I*Toftner, R. 0.  Developing a state solid waste management plan.,
Public Health Service Publication No. 2031.  Washington, U.S. Government
Printing Office,  1970.   50 p.

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to comprehensive solid waste management, which will have a negative




effect whether that effect is recognized in planning or not.  Only




quite recently have responsible planners begun to realize that the




fundamental problems of solid waste management also include such matters




as the structure of the modern community and the cultural attitudes of its




citizen, as well as considerations of technology, economics, and




resources utilization.  The interrelationships of these factors and the




manner in which they affect problems of area planning are complex.




     Urbanization.  The urbanization following World War II revolutionized




our concepts of urban life.  Because of the growth of suburbia, the




problem of solid waste management has expanded to area-wide proportions,




beyond the resolving power of the communities that existed prior to the




war.  That is to say that the growth of the population has contributed




to the growth of the problem to such an extent that it can no longer be




handled by any one of the myriad of separate jurisdictions that make up




the overall community.  In areas where an explosive increase in




population had a maximum impact, urbanization has progressed beyond




the limits of cities and their satellite suburbs and become a




characteristic of rural communities as well.  With high land values



and heavy investment in fixed installations dedicated to specialty




enterprises, this rural sector of the community surrounds the



urban-industrial-suburban sector as epithelium that has lost its




elasticity and is a thick enough shell to have a profound effect on both




its own and the nearby cities' problems of waste management.




     Cities have traditionally dealt with wastes by transporting them




beyond their own immediate confines and discarding them in the least




                                 65

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expensive way tolerable, advancing from city dump to landfill or




incinerator as necessity compelled.  Since World War II, however, freedom




to manage wastes so simply has been curtailed.  The once-rural shell is




difficult to penetrate except at extremely long-haul distances, which




often must be judged to be prohibitively expensive.  In most cases, however,




the alternative of retaining the wastes within the city has been even




more unsatisfactory.  Land area is at a premium, and land use planning




is generally not advanced enough to include refuse disposal objectives..




Moreover, the constraint is exacerbated by air pollution considerations




that limit the combustion of wastes, as well as by the consideration that




the urban core itself may consist of several incorporated cities, each




limited by its own geographical and jurisdictional limits.   In the




San Francisco Bay area, some 83 separate but impinged jurisdictions




and agencies seek to put solid wastes off on one another at 77




different locations, all of which are under the watchful eye of a most




vigorous air pollution control district.




     Just as the city is confined by the surrounding rural section,  it




in turn exerts pressure against the air-polluting, water-polluting,




vector-producing, and other adverse environmental potential of that sector.




Urban subdivisions press hard against the dairies, the egg and poultry




establishments, and animal feeding enterprises.   In California single




installations may fatten 3,000 to 6,000 steers annually; others




maintain  10,000 to  100,000 hens.  The fly-breeding potential of the 200




million cubic yards of animal manures produced each year at  the zone




of contact between  urban and  rural  installations  in California is almost






                                   66

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astronomical.  Against such zones, the city presses with enforcement of




nuisance-abatement laws and extension of city limits which may overwhelm




agricultural enterprises with ruinous taxes.  Both fixed taxes and the




unavailability of land further away confront the farmer with the choice




of either going out of business or solving his own envTronmental




problems.  Collection of manures  is expensive, and its disposal on land




beyond the confines of the community is as difficult as the disposal of




urban solid wastes.




     There are other problems of solid waste management in a modern




community that derive from agriculture pursuits in a high-density




rural sector, such as the burning of tree trimmings and other plant




residues, which accentuates the air pollution problem.  It is obvious




then, that in a modern community consisting of impinged urban,




industrial, suburban, and high-investment agricultural sectors, the




problem of solid waste management calls for a community-wide approach




for which the existing fragmented jurisdictions are inadequate.




     Public Attitudes.  The attitudes of individual citizens and their




elected officials also contribute to the problems inherent in solid




waste management.  Any material  becomes a waste when its owner or




producer no longer considers it of sufficient value to retain.  To




suggest that if he wishes to get rid of it he should invest more




money in it, is considered absurd, despite the fact that he may object




to polluted water, smog, rats,  unsightly debris,  and other negative




conditions resulting from his loss of interest in ownership.




     In the face of this phenomenon, engendered in a Nation in which




there was formerly room to throw away everything,  many engineers and




                                   67

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officials responsible for solid waste management have been reluctant

to do what they are paid to do.  They have retreated again and again on the

dollar cost of solid waste management systems rather than helping the

public to understand that waste management is worth what it costs.  The

administrative official, again operating on traditional principles, has

often mistaken a policy of no spending at all for the ideal goal of

municipal government, not realizing that the 19th-century policy of

laissez-faire, when applied to current waste problems, equals pollution

of land, water, and air.

     The result has been that the public has tended consistently to

underestimate the amount it can "afford" to spend for solid waste

management.  This in turn has caused dump operators to function at the

limit of public tolerance until, currently, in many localities a public

reaction against the landfill and incinerator is taking place and

producing a demand for better methods, which ultimately may involve even

higher costs.55

     A realistic solid waste program must thus include awareness that

the public is largely uninformed, unwilling to invest in waste

management, and at the same time is highly sensitive to the negative

aesthetic values resulting from this very condition.

     The educational program associated with the Bureau of Solid Waste

Management is clearly related to the problem of statewide and area
     55Brunner, D. R., S. J. Hubbard, D. J. Keller, and J. L. Newton.
Closing open dumps.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971
19 p.
                                  68

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planning, because of the lack of education among:the very persons who




do that planning.  While public health officials are generally aware of




the nuisance and vector problems associated with- careless handling of




refuse, and engineers generally have a smattering of knowledge pertinent




to solid wastes programs, the planners, public administrators, lawyers,




and financiers who deal with urban problems get essentially no educational




introduction to the problem.  Especially profound is their ignorance of




the nature and potential of alternative methods of disposal and their




effect upon land, water, and air resources.  For example, a public




official who opposes landfill ing often cannot understand why incineration




or compostirag is not adopted instead.  No one has explained to him that




nefther of these does more than reduce the amount and alter the nature




of materFal that still  must be disposed of on land.   Discussion of waste




problems then tends to center merely on costs in dollars of programs




which by themselves will not take care of the problem, no matter how




many dollars are spent.  Multiply this confusion by the number of




jurisdictions involved in the consolidation of solid wastes planning, and




one can appreciate the depth of the problem involved, and the concurrent



need for the education of and in-depth consultation with those who would




be the administrators of the programs which must be put into effect.



     Accomplishments.  The Bureau of Solid Waste Management Regional



Representatives serve as the project officers for the planning grants




and are therefore primarily responsible for the assurance that the




grantees achieve the purposes of the grants.   The DTO is responsible for




the administrative and technical management of the planning grant program.






                                 69

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     During FY 1967 and 1968, the primary effort in the planning grant


program was devoted to handling routine requests relating to development,


processing, and assessing the technical merits of State planning grant

applications.  Numerous site visits were made to discuss technical

problems with State representatives.  The reviewing, processing, and

funding of grants to the States was a continuing activity of the Planning


Section.


     A publication was issued which listed all planning grants awarded,

the recipients, the amounts, and the period of the grant.  This publication


has been periodically updated.56


     Most of the effort in the planning unit in the last half of FY 1967


was devoted to formulating administrative and policy guidelines for


reporting and assessing progress on the development of State solid waste


management plans.  Standards were developed for interim progress reports

and continuation-year project reports used for all continuation projects.

Copies of these standards were included with letters sent to those States

due for continuation on June 1, 1968.

     State-by-State progress as of January 1969 was described in Public

Health Service Publication No. 1913. and 1970 progress abstracts for each

solid waste disposal planning grant, are in the final stages of


publication.


     To further aid the States in developing their plans, the Division


has developed a set of planning guidelines that provide basic direction
     56Toftner, et al.  State solid waste planning grants, agencies, and
     _ _ _  i s\ —irt
progress —1970.



                                  70

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in the planning process.57  These guidelines set forth the principles




required for an agency to assess and evaluate its solid waste problems,




establish objectives to overcome these problems, consider alternatives,




and select a program to achieve the selected objectives.  Guidelines




are being developed for manpower planning in solid waste management.




These guidelines will be oriented toward the operational planning level




of solid waste management for any organization engaged in planning for




the recruitment, selection, and hiring of professional, skilled, and




semiskilled personnel on a long-range basis.  Consultative services




are being provided to States on a continuing basis to assist in




preparing the State solid waste management plan.






     Development of National Survey of Community Solid Waste




Practices.  Prior to the passage of the 1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act,




few States had solid waste programs, although solid waste planning was




becoming recognized as a desirable and necessary activity.  It was also




becoming evident that a thorough knowledge of solid waste conditions is




prerequisite to developing comprehensive planning programs.  But because




of a lack of experience and personnel, most States were unable to develop




and plan the required data-gathering activity.  Thus the States, through




the Conference of State Sanitary Engineers in July 1966, recommended that




the Solid Wastes Program prepare a list of essential data and guidelines




for conducting the Statewide surveys.  The response to this request




resulted in the formation of the National  Survey of Community Solid Waste




Pract ices.
     57Toftner.   Developing a state solid waste management plan.
                                  71

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     The data listings, reporting forms,  and specifications for the survey

were developed over a period of more than five-months through the joint

efforts of representatives of the Solid Wastes Program,  State' agencies,

and private consultants.  The Survey provides information on the location,

types and amounts of solid wastes being collected and their ultimate

disposition.   In addition to providing a waste inventory, the Survey

indicates the resources (manpower, equipment, monies, facilities, etc.)

required to carry out collection, reduction, and disposal activities.  An

evaluation of existing transfer, reduction, or disposal  sites and

facilities is also provided.

     Survey Forms.  The Survey reporting forms were designed for maximum

flexibility.   They may be used not only for individual communities but

are also adapted to area-wide surveys, provided the areas are established

on a geographically well-defined "community" basis, such as a county or

a sanitation district.  In order to provide flexibility, three separate

forms are used:  one to gather general information on the storage,

collection, and disposal of solid wastes in the "community" and the other

two for disposal site descriptions and evaluation purposes.58

     The Community Description Report  is used to obtain comprehensive

information on the community's solid waste practices.   Information about

the community's size, organization for solid waste handling, its storage,

collection and disposal systems and their costs, with the amount of
     58Muhich, A. J., A. J. Klee, and P. W. Britton.  Preliminary data
analysis;  1968 national survey of community solid waste practices.
Public Health Service Publication No. 1867.  Washington, U.S. Government
Printing Office,  1968.  ^83 p.
                                    72

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solid wastes collected and disposed of is obtained.   To this end, the




form embraces four broad information categories:   (l) storage, (2)




collection, (3)  disposal, (k)  budget and fiscal.




     The Land Disposal Report  is used to determine the disposal




capabilities, costs, and method of operation of all  land disposal sites.




The Facility Investigation Report provides information about the operating




characteristics  and capabilities of all  solid waste reduction or disposal




facilities within a State.  The types of facilities to be considered




include incinerators, grinders, crushers, transfer stations (land or




water), compost  plants, conical burners, and hog feeding lots.  Both




disposal site forms cover three general  areas of information:  (1)




description and  evaluation of  site, (2)  quantitative data, and (3)  fiscal




data.  In addition, the facility form contains a separate section on the




design features  and operational characteristics of incinerators.




     Survey Coverage.  Initially it was  recommended that the Survey




examine as a minimum all incorporated places with a population of 5,000




or more plus all Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA's).




Because of more  specific needs, however, the States participating in the



National Survey  found it desirable to extend coverage to the smaller




communities as well.  Thus the actual extent of the survey far exceeded



the suggested minimum.




     All land disposal sites and facilities at which public and private




collectors deposit solid wastes were to be surveyed, regardless of the




size of the community the site served or whether it was publicly or




privately owned  or operated.  However, so-called "promiscuous"




unauthorized dumps at roadside or in public or private areas on which






                                   73

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dumping occurs on an irregular or infrequent basis are not

considered land-«Hsposal sites for the Survey.  Similarly, on-site

dijjj&stil or reduction facilities such as apartment house incinerators

and household garbage grinders are not considered facilities for the

Survey.  In addition, private disposal sites or facilities owned and

operated by industrial, commercial, or institutional establishments and

used solely for reduction or disposal of their own generated solid

wastes were not surveyed.  The same holds true for private or on-site

disposal of agricultural wastes.  Although some information on industrial

and agricultural wastes was obtained on a community basis, in general

no attempt was made to conduct specific industrial or agricultural surveys.

     Implementation.  Implementation of the National Survey was carried

out by the State agency receiving the Federal solid waste planning grant

in the first 12 to 18 months of the grant period.  To obtain reliable

data, the Survey was performed as a field investigation, with individuals

or teams of data collectors actually visiting the communities and sites.

Information was obtained either by personal  interview or direct

observation; under no circumstances was a form completed on a mailout

and return basis.

     In order to obtain consistent information for use  in conducting

the National Survey, the Solid Wastes Program developed a manual of

instructions, including sample problems.59  Each participating State
     59Manual of instructions and sample problem for use in conducting
the national survey of community solid waste practices.  [Cincinnati],
Solid Wastes Program, July 19&7-  &5 P-

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                          anual discussing  in detail the survey forms,

                    « ^
                 ^ o*  .id  nomenclature.

                   ^itional consistency, the Solid Wastes Program
                 i \
                 rs and workshops on the Survey with State personnel.
              *
           "^personal  interview technique and by providing sufficient

         fo the  interviewer through the instruction manual and seminar

       ations, it was anticipated that the National Survey Data would

    ,a to be both uniform and reliable.

     Recording and Processing Survey Data.  The States participating in

the National Survey  reported their survey results to the Solid Wastes

Program by returning completed Federal forms, appropriate State-designated

forms, or returning survey data transferred to punched cards.  The first

method was the usual.

     Upon receipt of the survey information, the data was verified, coded,

and keypunched by personnel of the Solid Wastes Program.  The coding

systems and the manner in which the data were transferred onto standard

punched cards was described in detail  so that the participating States

could do their own data processing and analysis if desired.60

     Data processing by a Honeywel1-^00 series computer then produced

tabulated computer printouts of the information in a format designed to

facilitate rapid examination of the raw data.  Copies of the printouts

(plus punched cards)  were returned to the States so that errors in coding

or keypunching could be corrected and the data verified.
     ^Coding manual; the national survey of solid wastes practices
Cincinnati, Solid Wastes Program, September 1967.  63 p.
                                  75

-------
     Data Presentation.  The information available

                                                   ^tn ,


Survey on July I, 1968, has been presented in its bas   e /V^, .




since the raw data is voluminous and requires basic staf''77-  ^




to summarize it  in usable form, a preliminary data analys./
                                                           /v



computer.61                                                   ~t/00




     Conclusion.  The value of the National Survey conducted




beyond question:  for the first time, the significant data has




assembled, and it is now possible to begin to plan for  future soi




waste management programs at the national level, as well  as at the      i




and local levels, with some assurance that the plans made will correi




with the situation that exists.  The dimensions of the  solid waste



disposal problem, now that they can be estimated, are perhaps even



greater than was realized by Congress at the time of passing the Solid




Waste Disposal Act of 1965.  But if the National Survey of 1968 has




presented us with an almost frighteningly clear picture of the problems




that now exist,  it has also provided us with the first  and most



indispensable tool for dealing with those problems:  the  1968 Survey of




Community Solid Waste Practices itself.



     Techn i ca1 Ass i s tance.  Over 80 percent of the existing solid waste




management systems in the United States are considered  to be unacceptable.




This can be attributed to many factors such as lack of  adequate planning,




manpower, and budget; a lack of the application of sound  management




principles; and nonuti1ization of acceptable current technology.
     51Muhich, et al.  Preliminary data analysis,





                                    76

-------
     The application of good technical  and management practices to these




existing systems to bring about improvements is needed and justified, and




is authorized by PL 89-272 [Sec. 202 (b) (2)].   It is reasonable to accept




the premise that a national solid waste program with resources and




capabilities to draw together all acceptable practices for application of




problems can greatly aid in achieving the needed improvements required to




assure maximum utilization of the nation's resources while protecting




the environment.  In fact, only on a national basis can all of the current




or emerging new technology available be collected, interpreted, and




applied across regional and geographical lines.




     The application of technology to specific and real problems at the




local operating level can be optimized by the provision of direct




assistance in the form of manpower, studies, evaluations, and




recommendations.  Direct contact with the local technical operations




of solid waste management can be our most effective method of achieving




improvements, as well as developing a strong public and political




awareness of the problems of solid waste management and establishing




a base of public support for the programs of the Bureau.




     In addition, the technical assistance program of the Bureau serves as



a feedback mechanism to the research, development, and demonstration




activities of the Bureau in identifying areas requiring new knowledge




acquisition, technology developments not published in the literature,




systems demonstration, and specific needs of solid waste management




systems operations.




     The provision of technical assistance by the Bureau began early




after the establishment of the Office of Solid Wastes (OSW) in January
                                    77

-------
1966.  Early priorities of the technical  services branch of OSW were

the establishment of an operating organization,  recruitment of staff,

and, most important, the initiation of the planning grant program and

the National Survey.  Thus, the establishment of the technical services

branch in Cincinnati in August 1966 was followed by an intense effort to

train and orient the staff and to develop capabilities so that the needed

direct and indirect assistance activities could  be initiated.   Historically,

the first identifiable direct assistance  project was response  to a

request from the Federal Water Pollution  Control Administration and the

Corps of Engineers to study and evaluate  the potential of pollution

from several existing dumps that were to  be innundated by a reservoir

under construction in Shelbyville, Illinois.  Field studies were made

and a report with recommendations was submitted  to the appropriate

agencies.  A followup with the Corps indicated that Division

recommendations were followed.

     Other early identifiable direct assistance  efforts were the

Bullitt County, Ky., and District of Columbia incinerator studies.^2  The

incinerator study was a highly significant step  forward in the

maturation of DTO.  It  represented the Division's first entry  into a

rather controversial area and was also one of the first times  that

personnel from different portions of the Bureau  participated  in a joint

study.
     52Report on the municipal solid wastes incinerator system of the
District of Columbia.  Cincinnati, U.S. Public Health Service,
June 1967.  77 p.  Reprinted  1967, 1968.
                                  78

-------
     The growth of the Division has broadened its capabilities to provide




assistance authorized by the Act.  Today, the Division has a capability  in




most areas of solid waste management.  Intramural projects, besides




collecting and disseminating badly needed data, are also improving the




capability of the Division to provide assistance.




     A review and analysis of the Division's technical assistance




activities will provide some insight into the nature and




characteristics of solid waste management problems nationally, and the




areas requiring Bureau and Division attention.  Although recordkeeping




on assistance did not really begin until  FY 1968, and the combining of




the former technical  services and systems and operations planning




activities in 1969 limits the data available to DTO, it is able to




provide an interesting analysis of its activities and subsequently the




Bureau's interests.




     Since FY 1968, the Division has experienced a 100 percent annual




growth of requests for assistance.  In FY 1968, 280 requests were




received; in FY 1969, 620 requests.  During the first quarter of FY 1970,




151 requests were received.   Projections  for FY 1970 are to receive and




respond to 750 requests.




     Approximately 10 percent of requests required travel  by Division




staff, while the remaining 90 percent were handled by correspondence and




telephone.  Of the direct assistance manpower expended, k
-------
crossed several waste types, which could be expected as a greater number




of the receptors were not specific-waste category oriented and were




concerned with two or more waste types.  The other two significant groups




of requests (11 percent each) are related to the management problems of




residential and industrial solid wastes.  Eighty percent of Division




manpower (approximately 18 man-years) was utilized to support those




requests that were concerned with two or more waste types.




     The Division has also analyzed the source of requests as they




related to the various unit process operations of solid waste




management.  As in the waste type source, the greatest percentage (40




percent) was of a general nature which cross the lines of two or more




of the solid waste management unit operations.  As might be expected, the




other two major distributions of requests were related to the problems




associated with incineration and disposal of solid waste on the land;




these percentages were 20 percent and 17 percent respectively.  Eight-five




percent of direct assistance manpower was expended to support the above




three categories of requests.



     The Division also analyzed the type of professional resources




utilized to respond to the requests.  Sixty-five percent of requests



were engineering-oriented, 20 percent required data development resources,




and 7 percent  required the legislative and systems control resources of




the Division.  It should be pointed out that the direct assistance




resource allocation for statistical services computer technology and




planning \s not necessarily a true  indication of the amount of




statistical services provided in these areas.  A great deal of  its






                                  80

-------
capabilities here are utilized to support other assistance activities and




therefore provide a very essential part of the Divison's responsiveness to




the receptors.




     Engineering.  Many solid waste management systems in the country




are inadequate and unacceptable.  Often communities and industry are not




aware of the problems related to inadequate solid waste management or




methods of correcting the problems.




     Technical assistance is provided in many ways as the various




subprojects to be discussed will illustrate.  However, the most obvious




form of assistance that can be provided at this time is in engineering




through the application of existing technology to improve existing




conditions.  This is accomplished by the provision of available




information, discussion of specific problems, and conduct of studies on




various systems.




     During the first half of FY 1970 the Division responded to almost




200 requests for engineering technical  assistance.  A simple analysis




shows that the nature of these requests is quite similar to that




presented previously, but with a slightly greater emphasis on incineration,




land disposal, and collection.




     An example of engineering assistance by the provision of available




information is that provided to the National Air Pollution Control




Administration (NAPCA)  on their contract work to study and evaluate




certain factors of incineration that require a good knowledge of the




composition of municipal wastes to be burned.  NAPCA could not provide




the contractor with this information.  On request, the Bureau's Division






                                  81

-------
of Technical Operations compiled and provided information on composition

from over 20 studies conducted by the Division and obtained through

the Bureau's grant mechanisms.  Following this,  assistance was given in

interpreting and analyzing these data.

     Examples of more extensive efforts requiring field studies follow.

     Study of Recreation Solid Wastes for the U.S. Department of

Agriculture--Forest Service.  The Forest Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, requested that the Bureau of Solid Waste Management conduct

a study of National Forest recreation areas.  The study was to establish

waste generation rates for major recreation activities and to determine

the cost of solid waste handling for selected Forest Service districts.

     Following a series of preliminary meetings between Bureau

and Forest Service personnel and a February 1968 trial study at the

Ocala National Forest, Florida, the Forest Service submitted a list of

16 sites for study.  During the summer of 1968, two study teams, each

containing two Bureau engineers and two Forest Service personnel,

studied solid waste composition and generation in 11 National Forests.

An additional study of two winter recreation areas was made by the

Forest Service.  A report of the findings of the study has been

prepared and has been published.63

     This study provides the most comprehensive information on solid

waste management in recreational areas that has been published since
     63Spooner, C. S.  Solid waste management in recreational forest
areas.  Public Health Service Publication No. 1991-  Washington, U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1971.  96 p.
                                  82

-------
received copies of this manual discussing  in detail the survey forms,

their  interpretation and nomenclature.

     To promote additional consistency, the Solid Wastes Program

conducted seminars and workshops on the Survey with State personnel.

By using the personal interview technique and by providing sufficient

guidance to the interviewer through the instruction manual and seminar

presentations, it was anticipated that the National Survey Data would

prove  to be both uniform and  reliable.

     Recording and Processing Survey Data.  The States participating in

the National Survey reported  their survey  results to the Solid Wastes

Program by returning completed Federal forms, appropriate State-designated

forms, or returning survey data transferred to punched cards.  The first

method was the usual.

     Upon receipt of the survey information, the data was verified, coded,

and keypunched by personnel of the Solid Wastes Program.  The coding

systems and the manner in which the data were transferred onto standard

punched cards was described in detail so that the participating States

could  do their own data processing and analysis if desired.60

     Data processing by a Honeywel1-400 series computer then produced

tabulated computer printouts of the information in a format designed to

facilitate rapid examination of the raw data.  Copies of the printouts

(plus  punched cards)  were returned to the States so that errors in coding

or keypunching could be corrected and the data verified.
     °°Coding manual; the national survey of solid wastes practices,
Cincinnati, Solid Wastes Program, September 19&7.  63 p.
                                  75

-------
     Data Presentation.  The information available from the National




Survey on July I, 1968, has been presented in its basic form.  But




since the raw data is voluminous and requires basic statistical reduction




to summarize it in usable form, a preliminary data analysis was made by




computer.61




     Conclusion.  The value of the National Survey conducted in 1968 is




beyond question:  for the first time, the significant data has been




assembled, and it is now possible to begin to plan for future solid




waste management programs at the national level, as well as at the  regional




and local levels, with some assurance that the plans made will correspond




with the situation that exists.  The dimensions of the solid waste




disposal problem, now that they can be estimated, are perhaps even




greater than was realized by Congress at the time of passing the Solid




Waste Disposal Act of 1965.  But if the National Survey of 1968 has




presented us with an almost frighten!ngly clear picture of the problems




that now exist, it has also provided us with the first and most




indispensable tool for dealing with those problems:  the 1968 Survey of




Community Solid Waste Practices itself.




     Technical Assistance.  Over 80 percent of the existing solid waste




management systems in the United States are considered to be unacceptable.




This can be attributed to many factors such as lack of adequate planning,




manpower, and budget; a lack of the application of sound management




principles; and nonuti1ization of acceptable current technology.
     61Muhich, et al.  Preliminary data analysis,





                                    76

-------
     The application of good technical and management practices to these




existing systems to bring about improvements is needed and justified, and




is authorized by PL 89-272 [Sec. 202  (b) (2)].   It is reasonable to accept




the premise that a national solid waste program with resources and




capabilities to draw together all acceptable practices for application of




problems can greatly aid in achieving the needed improvements required to




assure maximum utilization of the nation's resources while protecting




the environment.  In fact, only on a national basis can all of the current




or emerging new technology available be collected, interpreted, and




applied across regional and geographical lines.




     The application of technology to specific and real problems at the




local operating level can be optimized by the provision of direct




assistance in the form of manpower, studies, evaluations, and




recommendations.  Direct contact with the local technical operations




of solid waste management can be our most effective method of achieving




improvements, as well as developing a strong public and political




awareness of the problems of solid waste management and establishing




a base of public support for the programs of the Bureau.




     In addition, the technical assistance program of the Bureau serves as




a feedback mechanism to the research, development, and demonstration




activities of the Bureau in identifying areas requiring new knowledge




acquisition, technology developments not published in the literature,




systems demonstration, and specific needs of solid waste management




systems operations.




     The provision of technical assistance by the Bureau began early




after the establishment of the Office of Solid Wastes (OSW) in January
                                    77

-------
1966.  Early priorities of the technical  services branch of OSW were

the establishment of an operating organization,  recruitment of staff,

and, most important, the initiation of the planning grant program and

the National Survey.  Thus,  the establishment of the technical services

branch in Cincinnati in August 1966 was followed by an intense effort  to

train and orient the staff and to develop capabilities so that the needed

direct and indirect assistance activities could  be initiated.   Historically,

the first identifiable direct assistance project was response  to a

request from the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration and the

Corps of Engineers to study and evaluate the potential of pollution

from several existing dumps that were to be innundated by a reservoir

under construction in Shelbyville, Illinois.  Field studies were made

and a report with recommendations was submitted  to the appropriate

agencies.  A followup with the Corps indicated that Division

recommendations were followed.

     Other early identifiable direct assistance  efforts were the

Bullitt County, Ky., and District of Columbia incinerator studies.62  The

incinerator study was a highly significant step  forward in the

maturation of DTO.  It represented the Division's first entry  into a

rather controversial area and was also one of the first times  that

personnel from different portions of the Bureau  participated in a joint

study.
     62Report on the municipal solid wastes incinerator system of the
District of Columbia.  Cincinnati, U.S. Public Health Service,
June 1967.  77 p.  Reprinted 1967, 1968.


                                  78

-------
     The growth of the Division has broadened its capabilities to provide




assistance authorized by the Act.  Today, the Division has a capability in




most areas of solid waste management.  Intramural projects, besides




collecting and disseminating badly needed data, are also improving the




capability of the Division to provide assistance.




     A review and analysis of the Division's technical assistance




activities will provide some insight into the nature and




characteristics of solid waste management problems nationally, and the




areas requiring Bureau and Division attention.  Although recordkeeping




on assistance did not really begin until  FY 1968, and the combining of




the former technical services and systems and operations planning




activities in 1969 limits the data available to DTO, it is able to




provide an interesting analysis of its activities and subsequently the




Bureau's interests.




     Since FY 1968, the Division has experienced a 100 percent annual




growth of requests for assistance.  In FY 1968, 280 requests were




received; in FY 1969, 620 requests.  During the first quarter of FY 1970,




151 requests were received.  Projections  for FY 1970 are to receive and




respond to 750 requests.




     Approximately 10 percent of requests required travel by Division




staff, while the remaining 90 percent were handled by correspondence and




telephone.  Of the direct assistance manpower expended, 45 percent




(approximately 10.7 man-years)  was utilized to support the 10 percent of




the requests that required travel.




     It is interesting to note  the distribution of request sources as




related to the type of solid wastes.  Sixty-nine percent of the requests






                                  79

-------
crossed several waste types, which could be expected as a greater number




of the receptors were not specific-waste category oriented and were




concerned with two or more waste types.  The other two significant groups




of requests (11 percent each) are related to the management problems of




residential and industrial solid wastes.  Eighty percent of Division




manpower (approximately 18 man-years) was utilized to support those




requests that were concerned with two or more waste types.




     The Division has also analyzed the source of requests as they




related to the various unit process operations of solid waste




management.  As in the waste type source, the greatest percentage (^0




percent) was of a genera] nature which cross the lines of two or more




of the solid waste management unit operations.  As might be expected, the




other two major distributions of requests were related to the problems




associated with incineration and disposal of solid waste on the land;




these percentages were 20 percent and 17 percent respectively.  Eight-five




percent of direct assistance manpower was expended to support the above




three categories of requests.




     The Division also analyzed the type of professional resources




utilized to respond to the requests.  Sixty-five percent of requests



were engineering-oriented, 20 percent required data development resources,




and 7 percent  required the legislative and systems control resources of




the Division.  It should be pointed out that the direct assistance




resource allocation for statistical services computer technology and




planning is not necessarily a true indication of the amount of




statistical services provided in these areas.  A great deal of its






                                  80

-------
capabilities here are utilized to support other assistance activities and




therefore provide a very essential part of the Divison's responsiveness to




the receptors.




     Engineering.  Many solid waste management systems in the country




are inadequate and unacceptable.  Often communities and industry are not




aware of the problems related to  inadequate solid waste management or




methods of correcting the problems.




     Technical assistance is provided in many ways as the various




subprojects to be discussed will  illustrate.  However, the most obvious




form of assistance that can be provided at this time is in engineering




through the application of existing technology to improve existing




conditions.  This is accomplished by the provision of available




information, discussion of specific problems, and conduct of studies on




various systems.




     During the first half of FY  1970 the Division responded to almost




200 requests for engineering technical assistance.  A simple analysis




shows that the nature of these requests is quite similar to that




presented previously, but with a slightly greater emphasis on incineration,




land disposal, and collection.




     An example of engineering assistance by the provision of available




information is that provided to the National Air Pollution Control




Administration (NAPCA) on their contract work to study and evaluate




certain factors of incineration that require a good knowledge of the




composition of municipal wastes to be burned.  NAPCA could not provide




the contractor with this information.  On request, the Bureau's Division






                                  81

-------
of Technical Operations compiled and provided information on composition

from over 20 studies conducted by the Division and obtained through

the Bureau's grant mechanisms.  Following this,  assistance was given in

interpreting and analyzing these data.

     Examples of more extensive efforts requiring field studies follow.

     Study of Recreation Solid Wastes for the U.S. Department of

Agriculture--Forest Service.  The Forest Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, requested that the Bureau of Solid  Waste Management conduct

a study of National Forest recreation areas.  The study was to establish

waste generation rates for major recreation activities and to determine

the cost of solid waste handling for selected Forest Service districts.

     Following a series of preliminary meetings  between Bureau

and Forest Service personnel and a February 1968 trial study at the

Ocala National Forest, Florida, the Forest Service submitted a list of

16 sites for study.  During the summer of 1968,  two study teams, each

containing two Bureau engineers and two Forest Service personnel,

studied solid waste composition and generation in 11 National Forests.

An additional study of two winter recreation areas was made by the

Forest Service.  A report of the findings of the study has been

prepared and has been published.63

     This study provides the most comprehensive  information on solid

waste management in recreational areas that has been published since
     63Spooner, C. S.  Solid waste management in recreational forest
areas.  Public Health Service Publication No. 1991.  Washington, U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1971-  96 p.
                                  82

-------
1955-  The Forest Service anticipates being able to make substantial

improvements in their storage, collection, and disposal operations

based on recommendations contained in this report.  Also, substantial

economic improvements are possible by applying the equations developed

for optimizing the management systems.  It is anticipated that many

other agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels will also be able

to use this information in planning new recreational facility needs or

improving operations at those already in existence.

     River Rouge, Michigan, Collection System Study.  The Mayor of River

Rouge, Michigan, requested assistance from the Bureau in his efforts to

improve the solid waste collection system of his city.  Examples of

conditions that needed correction included the use of 55~gallon drums

for storage, irregular and excessive collection schedules that included

residential service from two to five times per week, and the use of

inappropriate and antiquated collection vehicles.  It was determined

that assistance could be provided and, at the same time, valuable data

could be gathered for our own use in studies of collection systems.

     A one-week field study was conducted during November 19&9,

applying techniques developed for the Satellite Vehicle Collection

System Study (Scooter Study).61*  In addition, the system was analyzed from

the standpoint of optimizing storage-container and collection-truck
      ^Perkins, R. A.  Satellite vehicle systems for solid waste collection;
evaluation and application.  Washington, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1971-  (To be distributed by National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, Va.)  See also, Delaney, J. E.  Satellite vehicle
waste collection systems; summary report.  Washington, U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1971.  (In press.)


                                 83

-------
selection, number of crews required and crew size,  type of service




rendered (i.e., backyard,  curbside, alley,  etc.), and routing.




     The report is in press,  but already the city has reduced its




number of collection crews from six to five and is  making definite




efforts to obtain appropriate storage containers and collection vehicles,




and to improve collection  routes.




     Planning.  As specified  under the Solid Waste Disposal  Act




(P.L. 89-272, Title II, Sections 205 and 206), the Bureau is committed




to fostering comprehensive Statewide and interstate programs and planning




for the disposal of solid  waste.  This includes the coordination of




solid waste management systems with those for air and water pollution




control and other related  State, interstate, regional and local




planning activities.  To aid  in completion  of plans sufficient  to guide




States and interstates, the Bureau provides technical assistance in




professional  planning to apply methods and  techniques of planning,




management, finance, and public administration.




     Because of shortage of personnel in solid waste agencies having




the necessary background to develop a solid waste management plan in its




entirety, the Bureau developed a technical  assistance project for




providing consultation in  the methodologies of planning in order to




increase the  likelihood that  adequate plans will be completed.




     In view of the Bureau's  commitment, the Planning Section,  Division




of Technical Operations, provides on-site consultation in the




methodologies of planning and coordination  with other agencies  and plans.




     Specifically, assistance is provided in planning process system




installation and plan formulation, data analysis, development of program

-------
objectives, and the definition of and encouragement for adopting modern

management techniques needed to plan, organize, coordinate, direct,

control, and evaluate results of solid waste management systems.

Guidelines (developed under project TO 1^.1/0) are used as a consultation

tool in this project.

     Since this project began, 37 States, 3 interstate agenu  -, and 1

territory have been provided on-site planning consultation on at least

one occasion.  Two or more consultation meetings have been conducted in

2k States.

     Also, a National Symposium of State and  Interstate Solid Waste

Planning Agencies was held, at which general topics and workshops

provided information and discussion about the planning process and

data needs, legislation, intergovernmental and public relations, and

plan implementation to over 150 attendees.  The meetings included a

solid waste management panel session for the 1969 National Planning

Conference of the American Society of Planning Officials.  This panel

was organized to guide local, regional, and State planning professionals

and officials toward solid waste planning within their jurisdictions.

Over 100 persons attended this session.65

     Management Sciences.  Data on current economics as well as assistance

in the application of management techniques are valuable aids at the
     65Gluckman, L. A., ed.  Planning for solid waste management; symposium
of state and interstate solid waste planning agencies, St. Louis, September
9-11, 1969.  Public Health Service Publication No. 2093.  Washington, U.S.
Government Printing Office.  (in Press.)


                                  85

-------
local level.  In fact, technical  assitance can take two main forms:




assistance in evaluating new technology, and assistance in optimizing




presently-used techniques.  In both cases, management sciences techniques




play a significant role.




     The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) was applied to




the San Diego demonstration project.  A report was prepared and submitted




outlining the procedures to be used.




     Management sciences technical assistance has been provided to




many on-going projects funded by the Bureau of Solid Waste Management.




Division personnel have provided assistance to the project at Wichita




Falls, Texas, relating to simulation of network and routing problems.




Assistance on the Raleigh, North Carolina, demonstration grants has




centered around a clo^e monitoring and constructive criticism of work




relating to the project.  Intensive review and advice have been rendered




on many demonstration grant reports.  Also, assistance in locating




disposal sites using the fixed charge algorithm was supplied to the




Tocks Island Regional Advisory Council.




      In the area of economics, the Division has developed a strong




capability for technical assistance.  Cost accounting systems have




been developed and are either implemented or will soon be installed in:




Kansas City, Missouri; Chilton County, Alabama; Helena, Montana; Guam,




Department of Public Works; Northwest Georgia Regional Health Advisory




Council Inc.; Southern West Virginia Regional Health Council Inc.;




New Orleans, Louisiana; Ogden, Utah; Dayton, Ohio.  The Charles




County Community College in La Plata, Maryland, will use these systems






                                  86

-------
in their courses on waste management.  Accounting and PERT systems for




the Bureau's publishing and clearance operations office have been designed




and installed.




     In the economic assessment area, assistance has been rendered




in composting and incineration.  A comprehensive report on the costs of




composting was developed for the Johnson City, Tennessee, and Gainesville,




Florida, composting plants.  This information is being utilized to




assess the future of composting technology.




     Division personnel have participated in training lectures and




seminars.  A constant attempt has been made to disseminate information




through formal presentation at professional meetings.  Members of the




Management Sciences Section also participated actively in Model City




State Planning activities,  and a NACO conference on solid waste




management.




     Computer Technology.  The Bureau of Solid Waste Management is




committed to the collection, preparation, and dissemination of data




useful  for determining the feasibility of improved solid waste




techniques and for responding to requests for scientific and technical




information.  This data and the relationships that can be shown from



it are a necessary base in providing assistance to State and local




governments, other Federal  agencies, and industry to improve their




capabilities to meet the solid waste management problems of the Nation.




Since this encompasses a national  effort to provide the service,




tremendous amounts of data are gathered.  Linked with the need for




timeliness of the information, the need to know now, this effort  would






                                 87

-------
be greatly hampered by use of manual  procedures.   Effective management




depends heavily on information, its availability, accuracy, and content.




It is imperative that modern, up-to-date techniques of electronic data




processing be fully exploited.  The complexities  of both computer science




and solid waste management make a strong in-house data processing




capability essential.




     Computer programs are developed which provide the Bureau with




the capability for attacking the Nation's solid waste problem on




two fronts:  (l) by providing direct assistance to operating personnel,




be they State agencies, consultants, or industry, in the form of timely




relevant information; (2)  by providing the Bureau with an increased




capability in preparing for the distribution of relevant knowledge on




solid waste management.




     Specific technical assistance aspects of this activity are to




develop, test, and implement scientific and statistical computational




systems for use on the IBM 1130 and Honeywell 400 computers.  Another




objective  is to provide programming support in the area of computer




sciences and related fields, including systems analysis and data




presentation.  Although the development of computational systems is




machine-dependent and oriented toward the activities of the Bureau,




the outputs from such systems, namely tabulations and summaries,




directly assist State and local governments and industry in improving




their capabilities to meet the Nation's solid waste problems.




     Statistics.  Statisticians familiar with the field of solid waste




management are a scarce resource.  In fact, Bureau participation with






                                  88

-------
other public or private agencies or groups has indicated that statistical




assistance is not readily available.  The Bureau is committed to a great




data collection effort.  Innovations are being studied.  Predictive




abilities are being developed.  The success or failure of these efforts




depends in part on their statistical validity.  The need for a strong




statistical resource is, therefore, evident.




     This technical  assistance activity makes readily available to the




Bureau statistical competence familiar with the subject matter of solid




waste management.  Statistical services are provided both in-house




projects and for the Bureau's activities with other public or private




agencies or groups.   Such services  include regression analysis, design




of sample surveys, design and analysis of experiments, evaluation and




analysis of data from field studies, prediction and forecasting, and




estimation.




     Models have been developed to predict costs of collection systems,




incinerator costs, amount of solid waste per residential dwelling, solid




waste generated by commercial establishments, productive time for




satellite collection vehicles, and productive time for conventional



equi pment.



     As a follow-up to the National Survey of Solid Waste Practices,




the Basic Data Branch of DTO is developing forms and procedures for a




survey of industry and agriculture.  Suggestions have been given on the




design and implementation of that survey.  Finally, the Bureau, through




contractors,  is interested in information about industrial solid waste,




both quantitative and qualitative.  Most contractors are proceeding on a






                                 89

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sampling basis.  Many, however, needed assistance in setting up the




necessary statistical procedures.  In addition, the Bureau is interested




in models for predicting industrial solid waste quantities.  Again,




contractors have needed assistance in this endeavor.




     Data Development.  The general unacceptabi1ity of solid waste




management systems in the United States can be attributed to many factors,




one of which is the lack of readily available quantitative and




qualitative information and data which is essential for the proper design




and operation of systems.




     The Basic Data Branch has the primary responsibility of providing




assistance in the form of basic data and information about all aspects




of solid waste management which can aid communities and agencies to plan,




design, and operate acceptable solid waste management systems.  The level




of effort of assistance varies from merely providing existing information




and data, to comprehensive literature searches to obtain the  information,




to the development of the necessary information and data through field




studies and investigations and contracts.  During FY 19&9. the Basic




Data Branch responded to 135 requests with five requiring field




investigations.   In addition, DTO  is conducting a series of contract




studies to collect basic data  in some of the most deficient areas.  The




contracts are described  in the current edition of Public Health Service




Publication No. 1897.




     Legislation.  Legal assistance and advice is provided, on request,




to States, municipalities, private businesses, and  individuals regarding




solid waste legislation and rules  and regulations  relating to its control.






                                  90

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     Such requests for assistance  include copies of existing ordinances,




bills, and statutes or a  review of a draft at either  level.  The Bureau,




in complying with the request, can guide the recipient  into channels




which will encourage the  development of either a State  act or  local




ordinance along comprehensive waste management lines.   Solid waste




management acts and rules and regulations, submitted  by Bureau




Regional Representatives, are reviewed with recommendations being




returned to be forwarded  to the requestor.




     Several requests have been received for local ordinances, such as




one received by Region II from a Councilman of the Township of




Parsippany, Troy Hills, New Jersey.  His request, and others, have




been met by supplying a package of ordinances assembled by DTO.




     The Region III Federal Solid Waste Management Representative had a




request from a Professor of Engineering, University of West Virginia, a




member of the service committee to the advisory committee to the State




legislative body, for representative acts to be used  in the drafting of




a State solid waste disposal act.




     A law firm in New York City asked for and was provided bills and



enacted legislation in the waste disposal field.




     A proposed New York Health Code was submitted for  the Acting




Director, Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Health, City of




New York.  Proposed solid waste disposal acts for Georgia and Tennessee




were reviewed at the Regional Representative's request.  The DTO Guidelines




Section assisted in these.




     A very detailed project was initiated by the National Solid Wastes




Management Association in a request to develop a model contract for the







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operation of a sanitary landfill.  This has been completed and will include




work by the Planning, Guidelines, and Management Sciences Sections.  The




same source has forwarded a draft for a model collection contract which




will be published under joint authorship by the Bureau.






         ACTIVITIES  IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, 1966-1970 (cont'd.)




                            Training Operations




     The establishment of a Solid Wastes Training Activity was also




authorized by the Act.  The purpose of this activity is to alleviate




the shortage of trained technical and nontechnical personnel in the




solid waste management field,  The effect has been organized along two




basic lines:  training grants to institutions of higher education, and




an  in-house training program.66




     Training Grants are awarded to colleges and universities to




establish and expand graduate programs in solid waste technology and




management.  In the past, few graduate-school candidates in the




environmental health disciplines elected to do graduate work in the



solid waste field because of the tendency of the engineering profession




as well as public officials to give the solid waste programs low




priorities.  The financial help  provided by the Bureau of Solid Waste




Management training  grants will  help to relieve the critical shortage of




technical personnel  in the field.  Through FY 1968, a total of $9^3,000




had been awarded by  the U.S. Public Health Service for solid waste




training to the following universities:  Drexel Institute of Technology,
     66Lefke.  Summaries of solid waste  research and training grants,






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University of Florida, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of




Kansas, University of Michigan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,




University of Texas, University of West Virginia, University of Houston,




and the University of Illinois.




     The training in solid waste management directly performed by the




Federal Government has been conducted by the Solid Waste Training




Operation, Office of Training and Manpower Development, Environmental




Control Administration.   This effort is directed principally toward




the presentation of a series of regularly scheduled courses, generally




a week in duration, at the Training Institute's facilities in




Cincinnati or at other locations throughout the United States.  Courses




with equivalent content  are not generally presented elsewhere by either




public or private agencies.  Course content emphasizes current practices




acceptable from both the public health and economic viewpoints.  The material




is revised and updated as necessary for each presentation.  Professional




personnel with solid waste management responsibilities from manufacturers of




equipment, consulting engineering firms, Federal, State and local




health agencies, Armed Forces personnel, public works officials, and




operators of private refuse handling operations, are typical of the




participants attending the regularly scheduled courses.




     Courses Offered.  The staff in solid waste training was assembled



in the summer of 1966.  Prior to that time, training courses were conducted




with considerable dependence on guest lecturers.




     The training operations staff and funding was transferred to the




training program of the  National Center for Urban and Industrial Health




when the Solid Wastes Program was made a part of the latter organization.





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The staff remained intact and continued to serve the training needs of




the Bureau of Solid Waste Management, while having available the




facilities of the Environmental Control Administration.




     The Elements of Solid Waste Management course was given




early emphasis.  As a general presentation of solid waste problems and




handling practices, it was, and remains, the basic course in solid




waste management.  It is presented more often than any other course and




continues to be heavily subscribed.  More specialized offerings in




sanitary landfill principles, principles of incineration, composting




methods, health and safety in solid waste handling, solid waste handling--




field evaluation, and solid waste operations management followed quickly.




A solid waste orientation course (No. 650) was created to draw the attention




of elected and public works officials to the dimensions of the solid waste




problem and to the developing State and Federal solid waste programs.  The




need for this course is now largely ended and others are taking its place.




     In the future courses will be increasingly offered in the field;




more time will be given to assisting in the training of solid waste




handling personnel at the foremen level, at sanitary landfill and




incinerator locations, where the opportunity and demand develop.




Participation  in university-sponsored seminars on solid waste training




activities has become more prevalent, and requests for this assistance




are on the increase.  A visual aid library was established, which  includes




many slides depicting various aspects of solid waste disposal.




Examples of the courses offered by the solid waste training section are




listed below.




     Elements of Solid Waste Management.  This one-week course  includes




broad coverage of the technical aspects and new developments  in the field

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of solid waste management.  Lectures, field trips, and classroom




demonstration are supplemented with homework problems.




     Sanitary Landfi1l--Principies.  The methodology of sanitary landfill




operation and the basic considerations necessary for planning a sanitary




landfill are presented in the sanitary landfill course.  Other topics




covered include an understanding of the many public health, aesthetic,




and economic advantages that a sanitary landfill offers in comparisdn with




an open dump; the steps necessary in dump closing or conversion to




sanitary landfill; and the equipment and auxiliary facilities needed to




operate a sanitary landfill properly.




     Principles of Incineration.  The factors necessary to evaluate and




design municipal incinerators are presented.  State and local public




health engineers and  sanitarians concerned with incinerators find this




course particularly valuable.




     Composting Methods.   The principles of design, fundamentals of




operations, and future potential for composting operations in the United




States are presented.   The course is of particular interest to professional




engineers and sanitarians engaged in the evaluation and design of




composting facilities.




     Solid Waste Operations Management.  A field course is offered that



emphasizes particular operations with the required local requirements and




cri teria.




     In the first year of direct training operations,  two courses were




presented with a federal  effort of 6k$ man-days to 129 trainees; by fiscal




year 1970, there were approximately seven times as many course presentations




(Table 5).






                                   95

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                                 TABLE 5

               SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT TRAINING OPERATIONS
                         (Fiscal  Years 1966-70)

FY
FY
FY
FY
FY
Tra

1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
Totals
ining Grants.
Number
of courses
presented
2
7
13
13
14
49
For a complete
Number of
trai nees
129
378
691
451
659
2,308
description of
Number of
man-days
645
990
2,107
1,790
2,189
7,721
training gram
including funding, see the current edition of Public Health Service

No. 1596.  The following descriptions illustrate the diversity of training

grants awarded in recent years.

     Drexel Institute of Technology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   Under

this grant a training program was initiated in solid waste management at

the master's-degree level.  The studies are established as a specialized

curriculum within the environmental engineering and science program.  The

emphasis \s on solid wastes with graduates trained in community solid

waste management and for administration of State and Federal solid waste

programs.  Depending upon the electives selected and prior education,

students are candidates for degrees  in environmental engineering, civil


                                   96

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engineering, and science.  The curriculum provides courses in




environmental health design and operation of collection and disposal




systems, as well as in general engineering, planning, administration,




and management.   Besides the interdisciplinary approach at the




Institute, a close working relationship exists between the Institute




and State and local governments.




     Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.  Under this




grant, a specialized interdisciplinary training program in solid waste




technology was begun at the master's-degree level.  The program is




administered by an interdisciplinary committee, principally from the




School of Civil  Engineering (Sanitary) and the School of Industrial




Engineering.  The program is oriented toward the education of engineers




in the unit processes utilized in disposal, systems analysis, and the




optimization of collection systems, as well as the economic and




administrative aspects of solid wastes management.  Students take a core




curriculum in solid wastes technology and related disciplines, and attend




seminars and special workshops.  Major emphasis is on civil, sanitary,




industrial, chemical, and mechanical engineering.




     University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  This grant supports




an expanded teaching program in solid wastes at the master's level.




It is an interdisciplinary approach developed around the Civil Engineering




Department and involving related fields such as environmental health,




urban and regional planning, and public administration.  The




curriculum emphasizes the environmental engineering aspects of the




solid waste management problem.  Current courses in the Civil Engineering






                                   97

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Department serve as a core of the curriculum for the solid wastes




program.  The program is designed to train personnel in presenting




knowledge more effectively about the solid waste problem and to




develop new knowledge and methods in this field.




     University of Texas, Austin, Texas.  This grant was designed to




initiate an instructional and research program in the disposal  aspect




of solid wastes at the master's level.  Training is offered as  a




specialty within the existing environmental health engineering




program, in cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering.




Objectives include the training of graduate students, the development




of a competent health-related teaching and research training program,




and the opportunity for both faculty and students to study new




approaches to the disposal of solid wastes.  Students specializing  in




solid waste management take specific courses amounting to at least




half the hours required for the master's degree.  Their training  is




directed toward solving problems of municipal refuse disposal.   Research




efforts are directed toward solid waste disposal problems.




     University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.  Support of this  program




is planned to begin master's-level training that emphasizes solid wastes




in a newly formed Department of Environmental Engineering.  The program




provides training of personnel for design and operation of solid waste




disposal facilities and training of research personnel for the development




of basic data needed to design effective waste disposal systems.  Students




specializing  in solid wastes take specific courses amounting to about




half the hours required for the master's degree.  As the program






                                   98

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develops,  a systems analysis approach will be included.   An

interdisciplinary, all-university committee coordinates  research and

training in solid waste management.  Initially this program included

studies in chemical and environmental engineering, and aspects of

botany and soiIs.

     West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.  Support

of this program is designed to expand master's level teaching that

emphasizes solid waste management.  To enlarge this program, research

in broad areas on the economic, and engineering aspects  of municipal

refuse handling, land reclamation, and related special problems is

encouraged.67

     Students specializing in solid waste management take specific

core courses  amounting to at  least half the hours  required  for the

master's degree.  Qualified nonengineering graduates may enter the

environmental engineering program on an open enrollment plan.

The solid waste management training program is mutually supporting with

graduate programs  in air pollution control engineering and water supply

and waste treatment.  This interrelationship provides the student with

the opportunity to participate in an active, broad-scope environmental

engineering program.  The graduate solid waste management education and

research at West Virginia University has an interdisciplinary approach:

specialists in sanitary engineering and preventative medicine exchange
     67MacQueen, A. A., Jr., and R. Zaltzman.  Regulation of solid wastes
by public law in West Virginia.  [Cincinnati], U.S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, 1970.  29 p.  [Restricted distribution.]
                                   99

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lectures, the Bacteriology and Civil  Engineering Departments administer




a joint research project on sanitary landfills, and the Chemistry and




Sanitary Engineering Departments contribute to a joint laboratory effort.




     Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,  Troy, New York.  This program is




designed to provide training in supervision, planning, and administration




of solid waste disposal facilities,  at  the master's level.  Emphasis




on solid waste includes consideration of collection, transportation




systems, and disposal.  The emphasis is directed to courses enabling




a broad understanding of the management of solid waste and its relation




to health problems.  The New York State Department of Health is




cooperating with the Rensselaer Institute faculty.




     The program, originating in the Division of Bio-Environmental




Engineering, includes engineering,  scientific, and economic aspects.  It




is strongly supported by an interdisciplinary committee consisting of




the departments of biology, chemistry,  science, and engineering.




     University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.  Support of this program



is designed to expand master's level and to initiate doctoral level




training, emphasizing solid wastes.   The program is within the environmental




health engineering and environmental health sciences curriculum.   Its




objective is to educate young engineers in the techniques of solving




practical problems of solid wastes  through research.  The  interdisciplinary




approach is obtained through the participation of the mechanical,




industrial, and chemical engineering departments and other fields such




as political science, business administration, and economics.




     The master's-level graduates are trained for effective careers




in State health departments, Federal agencies, engineering companies,






                                  100

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and industrial organizations.  The doctoral graduates are oriented

towards an academic career involving teaching and research in solid

waste problems.  Both the MS- and PhD-level programs emphasize research

as a learning experience.


         ACTIVITIES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, 1966-1970 (cont'd.)

                           Information Activities

     Before the December 1968 reorganization of the Solid Wastes

Program, activities concerned with the preparation and dissemination of

information were housed organizationally within various components of

the program.  Upon the reorganization of the program into the Bureau of

Solid Waste Management, certain of those activities that could

appropriately be centralized were regrouped to form a new unit, the Office

of Information, composed of three basic segments:  the Publishing Operations

Office, the Public Information Office, and the Solid Waste Information

Retrieval System (SWIRS).

     Publishing Operations Office.  Bureau manuscripts are published as

government pamphlets, brochures, and books, or as articles appearing in

professional, scientific, and technical journals.68  Bureau manuscripts

report and interpret a variety of technical subjects designed for seven—or

varying combinations of the seven--different audiences on several continents,

These audiences may be mainly characterized as professional personnel
     68Bayless, T. B., comp.  Publications of the Federal solid waste
management program, 1951-1970.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office,  (in press.)
                                   101

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working in the engineering, physical, social, or management sciences, those

working in solid waste management, those working in local or State

government, and the general public.  Bureau publications must appeal

in style, conform to the conventions and preferences of the various

audiences, and communicate purposefully and with technical accuracy

to each intended audience within the scope of established Bureau

policy and goals,69

     The function of the Publishing Operations Office is to process through

editing, revision, clearance, printing, and distribution all manuscripts

reporting on work of the Bureau, authored by members, contractors, or

grantees of the Bureau.  This results in printed publications that

carefully and accurately represent the varied efforts of the Bureau in

carrying out the intent of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.  The Publishing

Operations Office actively encourages and develops authorship of a wide

spectrum of publications,  initiating manuscripts when necessary.   In

addition to editing and publishing the work of the Bureau, the Publishing

operation distributes these publications on various mailing keys and sends

out single issues on request.  From Fiscal Year 1969 through Fiscal Year 1970,

the Bureau had processed more than A50 manuscripts and had published more

than 200 titles in publications varying from a few to several hundred pages

in length.  During the same period, more than 289,627 copies of solid

waste management publications were distributed.70
     69Curry, M. G., A. Hamilton, and C. S. Lawson.  Mechanics of
style; a guide for Bureau of Solid Waste Management authors, secretaries,
and contractors.   [Cincinnati], U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare,  1969.  26 p.
     70Bayless, T. B., E. H. Cox, M. S. Hackett, and B. A. Johnson.
Solid waste management: a list of available literature.   [Cincinnati],
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Sept.  1970.  15 p.

                                   102

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     Public Information Office.  The principal responsibilities of this

office are as follows:

          1.  Responding to public inquiries received by letters
          and by personal visits of individuals or groups.
          These requests come from such varied sources as the
          lay public, students, and professionals in technical
          fields,  and political officials.

          2.  Preparing and disseminating news releases to
          report all significant activities of the Bureau,
          including work performed by means of grants,
          contracts, and in-house research.

          3.  Preparing speeches for the Bureau Director
          and other senior staff members.

          k.  Preparing in whole or in part, magazine articles
          on Bureau activities, or supplying information and
          cooperating with free-lance writers and media
          representatives in the production of articles.

          5.  Handling publicity arrangements for Bureau-sponsored
          conferences, meetings, and other special projects.


                  Solid Waste information Retrieval  System

     SWIRS  is a keyword-oriented system whose basic objective is to

collect, abstract, index, and catalog, the world-wide solid waste

literature  for Bureau staff, contractors, grantees,  solid waste researchers,

and Congressional  offices, with limited service to the general public.

Specific activities include:

          1.  Reviewing the open technical and scientific
          literature for material relevant to solid waste
          management and related fields.

          2.  Securing published patents  related to solid
          waste technology, advising the Bureau staff of
          their existence, and preparing a patent abstract
          bulletin.71
     71Connolly, J. A., ed.  Abstracts; selected patents on refuse handling
facilities for buildings.  Public Health Service Publication No. 1793.
Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968.  [320 p.]
                                   103

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          3.  Continuing the annual annotated bibliography series
          covering the solid waste field.72"79

          4.  Providing routine literature searches, reference
          abstracting, and bibliographic citations upon
          request.

          5.  Preparing a monthly bulletin of recent accessions
          to the retrieval system, which is distributed by
          the Bureau to the public.80

          6.  Maintaining comprehensive Bureau grant and
          contract files as separate system.
     72Van Derwerker, R. J., and L. Weaver.  Refuse collection and
disposal; a bibliography, 1941-1950.  Public Health Service Publication
No. 91.  Washington, Federal Security Agency, 1951.  90 p.
     73Division of Sanitary Engineering Services.  Refuse collection and
disposal; a bibliography, 1951-1953-  Public Health Service Publication
No. 402.  Washington, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, 1953.  39 p.  Suppl. A.
     71fWeaver, L.  Refuse collection and disposal; an annotated
bibliography, 1954-1955-  Public Health Service Publication No. 91.
Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1956.  48 p.  Suppl. B.
     75Williams, E. R.  Refuse collection and disposal; an annotated
bibliography, 1956-1957-  Public Health Service Publication No. 91.
Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1958.  48 p.  Suppl. C.
     76Williams, E. R. , and R. J. Black.  Refuse collection and
disposal; an annotated bibliography, 1958-1959.  Public Health Service
Publication No. 91.  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office,  1961.
73 p.  Suppl . D.
     77Black, R. J., and P. L. Davis.  Refuse collection and disposal; an
annotated bibliography, 1960-1961.  Public Health Service Publication
No. 91-  Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963-  Revised
1966.  69 p.  Suppl . E.
     78Black, R. J., J. B. Wheeler, and W. G. Henderson.  Refuse
collection and disposal; an annotated bibliography, 1962-1963-  Public
Health Service Publication No. 91-  Washington, U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1966.  134 p.  Suppl. F.
     79 [The Franklin Institute.]  Solid waste management; abstracts
from the literature, 1964.  Washington, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1971-  (in press.)
     80[The Franklin Institute.]  Solid Waste Information Retrieval
System Accession Bulletin.  [Monthly serial.]  Washington, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1970.
                                   104

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          7.  Screening acquisitions of approximately
          2,000 clippings per month from a news clipping
          service for current interest to Bureau personnel
          as well as supplementing technical information
          requests on the subject matter.

          8.  Maintaining a library with holdings of
          approximately 1,200 documents, 95 percent of which
          are in the field of solid waste management.

          9.  Maintaining a usable-quote file and an
          equipment file on solid waste management equipment.

     To fulfill the first-mentioned part of its mission, SWIRS developed

a contract for a literature search and abstracting service,  which was

awarded to the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennyslvania in

June 1967.  The contract called for the (then) Solid Wastes  Program to

receive 300 abstracts and copies of articles per month starting

July 5, 1967.  By July 1, 1968, 2,600 abstracts and documents were on

file in the systems.  SWIRS staff members continued monitoring the

contract activity and abstracting much of the nonperiodical  literature.

As of July 1, 1969, there were ^*,250 abstracts and documents in the

system, representing both in-house and contract efforts, and by

July 1, 1970, there were 6,950 holdings.  Tentative plans were underway

at the latter date to computerize the search aspect that will include

insertion of all keywords and accession numbers into a computer bank.

This will reduce the lag time in responding to requests.  Tentative

plans are to open SWIRS to the public approximately six months after the

total conversion to the computerized base.  Tentative user projections

are for approximately 1,100 to 1,200 requests to be processed through

the system in the first year of operation.  This will, of course,

increase as the solid waste information retrieval system becomes known

in the field of solid waste management.

                                   105

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                                     IV




                         FUTURE NEEDS AND PROGRAMS






     In view of impending changes, this report may well  conclude any




description of progress in solid waste activities within the U.S. Department




of Health, Education, and Welfare.  On July 9, 1970, the President sent




to Congress a proposal that, if accepted, will place the Bureau of Solid




Waste Management in a newly established organization, the U.S. Environmental




Protection Agency (EPA).




     Five months earlier, in the President's message to Congress on the




environment, he announced his intention to recommend needed reforms,




which would involve major reassignments of responsibilities among




Departments.  In speaking of the need to improve environmental quality,




he said, "The tasks that need doing require money, resolve and




ingenuity--and they are too big to be done by government alone.  They




call for fundamentally new philosophies of land, air, and water use, for




stricter regulation, for expanded government action, for greater citizen



involvement, and for new programs to ensure that government,  industry, and




individuals all are called on to do their share of the job and to pay




their share of the cost."




     According to the later White House statement, "The mission of the




EPA will be to organize the fight against environmental pollution on an




integrated basis which acknowledges the critical  relationships between




pollutants, forms of pollution, and control techniques  .... (The present)




                                   106

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fragmentation of effort has resulted in confusion and overlap, some delay




in the recognition of new problems, and the continuance of inefficient




management techniques.  It has effectively inhibited any comprehensive




examination of the total effects of pollutants by man, plants, animals




and ecological systems."




     Although much has been accomplished since passage of the 1965




Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Bureau has long felt the severe constraints




imposed by budget and personnel limitations,  as it has been in the position




of competing for limited resources with widely disparate programs of the




Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.  In an effort to make the




most of inadequate resources,  the Bureau has  had to allocate much of its




time and money to "putting out fires"--to the refinement of proven




techniques with immediate application--and has devoted less time than it




would wish to the exploration of new or undeveloped concepts, such as




recycling and reuse, which are the key to ultimate solution of solid




waste management problems.  The Bureau anticipates that placement in the




U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide a stability that has been




lacking heretofore, and that with increased visibility, the tools it




requires to do the most effective job will necessarily follow.
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