Waste Management: The Cleaning of America

The history of solid waste collection and disposal is traced from the 19th Century, when public health was the major factor, to modern programs. Once regarded as a nuisance, solid wastes are now looked upon as the third pollutant and an ecological hazard because they are so closely interrelated with air and water pollution. Solid wastes were recognized as a national problem that was not responding to current treatment in 1965 with the passage of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. This Act focused on disposal, however, and is weak in the area of collection and its failure to mandate a regulatory authority. Efforts to correct these weaknesses led to the Resource Recovery Act of 1970, which shifted the emphasis from disposal to recycling, conversion to energy, and hazardous waste storage. The Office of Solid Waste was created in 1970, but federal and state interest and involvement in street cleaning and sanitation has been inconsistent. New technologies, such as in-house garbage grinders and compacters have not resolved the basic political and economic problems of collection and treatment or of the wasteful packaging and overconsumption habits of Americans and the associated litter epidemic. 49 references. (DCK)