MUNICIPAL SOLID-WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING - IMPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL POLICY-MAKERS

This paper discusses barriers associated with reducing the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and increasing the recycling of any MSW that is generated. It specifically focuses on policy options that could be used to promote reduction and recycling; it gives greater emphasis to source reduction because it has received less scrutiny in general and because it represents an earlier stage in the cycle of activities that ultimately leads to MSW generation. Without a reasonable package of policies and activities oriented toward these problems, it is doubtful whether the current impasse over siting new landfills and incinerators will be broken to any significant extent. To accomplish this, we need to think about how society uses and disposes of materials and products, which means considering the entire lifecycle of materials that end up as MSW.