Municipal Waste Management

This chapter addresses the topic areas as they relate to solid waste: regulations, source reduction and recycle/reuse, incineration, and landfilling. The major benefits of incineration are that the process actually destroys most of the waste rather than just disposing of or storing it; it can be used for a variety of specific wastes; and it is reasonably competitive in cost compared to other disposal methods. Perhaps the best approach to both describe and discuss the solid waste management option is to examine the federal regulations pertaining to landfills. Some of the exceptions described below are only available in states and tribes with EPA-approved programs. And, although incineration has come under pressure recently with environmentalist, it too may very well gain favor if the authorities and the public are educated as to the inherent advantages of this solid waste management option.