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?