Examining MSW
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Wasting Resources:Examining Our MSW
Selected U.S. and CharMeck Data from 1997-2008
By Derrick Willard
Municipal1.5%
Sewage sludge1%
Mining and oiland gas
production75% Industry
9.5%Agriculture
13%
From Miller, WWE 10th ed., Figure 15-2 (pg. 348). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Bureau of Mines
Sources of 12 Billion Tons of U.S. Solid Wastes Each Year:
*Note MSW is low!
Source: State of the Environment Report, 1997, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Mecklenburg County
Source: EPA Office of Solid Waste, Municipal Solid Waste Fact Sheet www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm
What material dominates our MSW waste stream in the USA?
#1
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If you want to REDUCE your paper MSW, here is an easy first step:
Source: EPA Office of Solid Waste, Municipal Solid Waste Fact Sheet www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm
Source: State of the Environment Report, 1997, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
What does the US currently do with MSW?
• 55% in landfills
• 14% incinerated
• 7% composted
• 24% recycledSource: Miller ESPCS text, 12th ed., 2008
*Note: EPA website says as of 2008, currently, in the US, 32.5 percent is recovered and recycled or composted,12.5 percent is burned at combustion facilities, and the remaining 55 percent is disposed of in landfills.
Recycling has been on the rise since the 1980’s…
Source: EPA Office of Solid Waste, Municipal Solid Waste Fact Sheet www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm
We do have many programs for our country in place today…
We do have many programs for CharMeck in place today…
Source: State of the Environment Report, 1997, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
But most (55%) of our MSW still goes to landfills…
Source: State of the Environment Report, 1997, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
What do we (USA) recycle?• 35% of total MSW is biodegradable and
possible to compost, but only 5% is composted
• 41% of wastepaper & cardboard
• 5% of plastics by total weight
• 56% of aluminum cans
• 60% of steel
• 22% of glass containers
Source: Miller ESPCS text, 12th ed.
Do you know?Closed-loop recycling (primary recycling)?
vs.Open-loop (secondary recycling)?
Why Don’t We Recycle More?
• Environmental costs are not passed on to consumers in market prices
• Most government subsidies are for those extracting virgin materials
• Fees/charges for dumping in landfills are low
• Lack of large, steady markets for all recycled materials (varies)
• Source separation inconvenient?
Solutions?• Taxing virgin resource extraction and ending
mining subsidies• “Pay-as-you-throw” systems• Requiring government funded agencies to
increase demand and lower prices by purchasing more recycleables
• Pass “take-back” (cradle-to-grave) laws for manufacturing
• Labeling of postconsumer vs. preconsumer recycled content
Source: State of the Environment Report, 1997, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Next: What do with do with the “really bad” stuff?
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