Solid Waste

Americans annually generate billions of tons of nonhazardous solid waste. In 1992, 13 billion tons of waste, including 200 million tons of municipal solid waste, required some form of processing: recycling, incineration, or disposal. State and local authorities are responsible for planning for the safe management of solid waste; granting permits for landfills; and arranging for waste collection, recycling, incineration, and disposal. This report examines (1) how the states are addressing solid waste issues, such as financing the high costs of managing this waste and resolving public opposition to locating waste facilities in communities, and (2) areas in which states see a need for a federal role in solid waste management.

GAO found that: (1) as of December 1994, 46 states had developed or were developing solid waste management plans to address diminishing disposal capacity, the rising costs of solid waste management, and public opposition to new disposal sites in local communities; (2) the eight state plans reviewed propose options for managing solid waste and alternative financing mechanisms to support local recycling programs and landfill closings; (3) states have used special fees and taxes to finance 74 percent of their solid waste programs; (4) although local opposition to solid waste management facilities has delayed site selection and construction, two of the eight plans contain procedures for selecting waste management sites; (5) some state officials and industry experts believe that the federal government should assist in developing national source reduction goals, setting packaging and recovered material standards, developing markets for recyclable materials, and ensuring sufficient disposal capacity; (6) although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports state source reduction and recycling efforts, it does not plan to enforce its 1992 municipal solid waste agenda or believe that it should lead recycling or source reduction activities; (7) although EPA projects that recycling rates of 25 to 35 percent may be achieved by the year 2000, additional advances may have to be made to achieve these rates; and (8) although legislation has been proposed authorizing states to restrict the interstate and intrastate shipment of solid waste, sufficient data do not exist to determine the impact of this authority on the solid waste management industry.