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ZERO WASTE AMERICA

What you can do at home? (click here)

The United States is sinking under a tidal wave of waste.

It's as if Detroit built cars, but the government wouldn't build any roads or pass any traffic laws. That's the current state of waste management in the United States - no federal infrastructure and no federal standards. No wonder recycling can't "compete" with waste disposal. What happened to the 1976 Solid Waste Disposal Act? Other than to mandate mega landfills and encourage the use of waste incinerators ... not much. The 'state plan' provisions of the Act requires the states to come up with their own plans to maximize recycling and minimize waste. That was not a particularly good plan, but it isn't happening regardless. As with many other environmental laws, there's no enforcement of existing laws by the EPA.  Waste management in the U.S. is in a state of anarchy with no effective federal plan or infrastructure in place to maximize recycling and minimize waste.  America's treatment of waste is the "free market" at its worst. 

Recycling efforts struggle against three factors: 

No effective federal plan exists to maximize recycling and minimize waste even though the federal government took ultimate responsibility for the nation's waste management in The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1976. The Act requires states to develop and implement plans to maximize recycling and minimize waste, but after

Foreign waste imports and U.S. domestic waste exports are virtually uncontrolled under federal law. Since 1997, the 50 states imported 48 million tons more waste than they exported, according to data in Biocycle magazine, an industry publication.  

Over-population makes waste reduction extremely difficult, if not impossible. Most population experts believe that the ideal population for the U.S. ranges between 100-150 million people, compared to our current population of 286 million, which is growing by 3 million people, annually. 

Three steps to Zero Waste in the United States: 

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive 'federal plan' to end waste disposal, chiefly through the use of disposal bans - these may be the best tools to support recycling, end waste disposal, and stop waste imports. States may implement 'disposal bans' now, without waiting for federal action. Minimum recycled content standards, removing unnecessary toxic components, and producer responsibility regulations can also be used to support recycling and end waste disposal. In the absence of a federal plan, litigation in the federal courts is an option for The Department of Justice, state governments, private citizens, and others to compel the EPA, as well as the states and U.S. territories, to enforce the 'sate plan' provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

2. Congressional legislation is needed to prohibit the import and export of disposal waste from foreign countries. This is an issue not addressed in the Solid Waste Disposal Act. See: Foreign Waste Imports

3. Increase support by Congress of family planning programs and non-discriminatory immigration restrictions. See: Negative Population Growth and Population-Environment Balance

ADDITIONAL WASTE ISSUES AND INFORMATION:

Read Lynn Landes's still timely 1997 article, "River of Waste"  published in a compilation of articles 
for high school students called,  Pollution: Opposing Viewpoints Series by Greenhaven Press. 

Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1976 - The Act required states to develop and implement "state plans" that "maximize" waste reduction and recycling by 1980. Most states ignored the Act and implemented voluntary recycling programs, instead. EPA has refused to enforce the Act on the false premises of 'unfunded mandate' and state control.

State Waste Imports - The Federal Courts have ruled that states can not control waste imports through discriminatory laws directed against waste imports. However, ‘disposal bans’, when equally applied to both in-state and out-of-state waste, do not discriminate and do pass judicial review.

Economics of Waste - For every one job waste disposal creates, recycling creates 5-10 jobs. It is estimated that Americans spend $100/ton to dispose of 'municipal waste'. In 1999, we disposed of approximately 274 million tons of mostly municipal waste at an approximate cost of $27 billion. That may be only 2% of total waste disposed. In addition, industries that compete directly with recycling (mining, logging, etc.), received 15 federal tax and spending subsidies totaling $13 billion from 1992-1997.

Statistics Updated for 2002 - America generates more waste every year, growing from a 247 million tons of non-hazardous waste in 1990, to 409 million tons in 2001, according to Biocycle magazine, an industry publication. Although 32% of municipal waste is reported to be recycled, there are two problems with this picture. One is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated in 1988 that municipal waste was only 2% of all waste generated, and secondly, the total amount of waste generated, recycled, or disposed is not truly known because the EPA has not collected or confirmed that data. Failure to do so is in violation of federal requirements. 

Waste Disposed (or Generated - Recycled) + Imports + Exports ÷ Population = Waste Mgt. Performance 

States' Politics of Waste - In order to placate public outrage at uncontrolled waste imports, some state legislatures have passed legislation that discriminates against out-of-state waste - a tactic they know won’t pass federal court review.

Federal Interstate Waste Legislation - Many politicians have said that only Congressional action can stop waste imports. Not true. Disposal bans can be used to affect waste imports. Also, most of the proposed federal legislation does not protect states from waste imports, but instead allows local communities to sign agreements with waste companies, over-riding potential state laws to limit waste imports.

(January 1, 2008 - Editor's note: Much of the info on this website has not been updated since 2002.  That said, not much has changed on the trash front.)

Also check out TheLandesReport.com for articles on election fraud, the environment, and more by Lynn Landes

ZWA, c/o Lynn Landes, 217 S. Jessup Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 629-3553       lynnlandes@earthlink.net