Talking Trash: The Economic and Environmental Issues of Landfills

Abstract

The U.S. per-capita figure for garbage production has topped four pounds per person per day, and that amount is rising at roughly 5% per year. In the past, municipal solid waste was sent to the nearest local landfill or incinerator. But in 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency instituted the first federal standards for landfills, designed to make them safer. Over 10,000 small municipal landfills have since been consolidated into an estimated 3,500 newer, safer landfills, some of which are "megafills" that can handle up to 10,000 tons of waste a day. The new landfills are outfitted to prevent air and water pollution and limit the spread of disease by scavengers. Although the new landfills provide better controls against air and water pollution as well as an alternate source of municipal income, they are not entirely problem-free. Some experts believe the new landfill technology has not been properly tested and will therefore not provide protection in the long run. Others feel that poorer, less well-informed communities are targeted as sites for new landfills. In addition, many people that live near megafills, which may draw garbarge from several states, are unhappy about the noise, truck traffic, odors, and pests caused by the facilities.