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W.A.Callegari Environmental Center |
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The 2006 State of Garbage in America
BioCycle is pleased to produce the State of Garbage in America Report, providing a picture on how municipal solid waste (MSW) is handled throughout the United States. For this 15th nationwide survey, which began in 1989, BioCycle continued its collaboration with Columbia University's Earth Engineering Center (EEC), relying on the methodology developed through the collaboration and initially used in the 2004 State of Garbage survey. The 2006 State of Garbage in America (SOG) survey conducted over the fall/winter of 2005 and 2006 collected and reports on calendar year 2004 data provided by individual states (where available).
Prior to 2004, BioCycle had requested estimates of the amount of waste generated and disposed in each state. Recycling rates, as a percent of the total municipal solid waste stream (MSW), were also requested, filling out the picture of waste management techniques for each state and the nation.
The new methodology launched in 2004 requested tons of materials for each of the major categories of MSW management -- tons recycled (including tons composted), tons combusted at waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities (includes MSW combusted without energy recovery -- less than 1% of total MSW combusted) and tons landfilled. These categories were added together to provide an estimate of the total MSW stream for each state and the nation. The tonnages also were used to calculate state and national recycling rates. By adopting a tonnage-based approach, it was felt that a truer picture of municipal waste management was obtained.
The information in this article is the culmination of the second BioCycle/EEC collaboration, conducted by the authors of this report using 2004 data. The national picture of the State of Garbage in America is: Of an estimated total of 388 million tons of MSW generated, 28.5 percent is recycled and composted, 7.4 percent is combusted in waste-to-energy plants and 64.1 percent is landfilled. The invaluable contributions of the state solid waste and recycling officials providing data (see sidebar) are most appreciated. See file listed below for data and tables.
By: Ljupka Arsova, Rob van Haaren, Nora Goldstein, Scott M. Kaufman and Nickolas J. Themelis
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tables.pdf
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Tables reflecting the study of The State of Garbage in America
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45.22 KB
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| Last Updated: 11/4/2009 1:54:39 PM |
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