Municipal solid waste: a look at maximizing the disposal effort

Abstract

The 'Not in my Backyard' (NIMBY) mind set has reduced the amount of land available for consideration as possible Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) sanitary Landfill sites. Landfills currently being used are reaching the end of their operating life while regulatory agencies are making the construction of new landfills more expensive and the opening and operating of new landfills more difficult. Some closed landfills have been certified safe for new post-usage considerations, raising the possibility for the dual (though not simultaneous) use of the property. Even with the promising possibility for future use, the amount of land available for sanitary landfills is dwindling while the population climbs and the per capita generation of garbage increases. The key then becomes to make the best use of America's land resource. After a brief history of MSW and a look at how landfills are designed, constructed, and operated, this paper will discuss issues aimed at maximizing the volume of MSW capable of being disposed of within a given landfill. In particular, source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting, waste-to-energy incineration, and landfill equipment and innovations, will be discussed in the context of maximizing a community's landfill space.