Solid Waste Handbook: A Practical Guide

A comprehensive, single-source reference of current issues in solid waste management designed as an aid in decision-making and assessment of future trends. The book covers public perceptions, legislation, regulation, planning and financing and technologies and operation. Also reviewed is the evolution of waste management since the passage of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, amended in 1978, 1980 and 1984. Common and divergent public and private concerns are examined, including an in-depth review of public perceptions and their effect on planning and implementation. Also included is a discussion of the inadequacies of most waste quantity and composition estimates, with techniques for adequate evaluation. The book looks at the misunderstanding and controversy over source separation and issues in municipal resource recovery from the viewpoint of the private scrap process industry. An unprecedented examination of the problem of bulky waste logistics and its effect on current disposal practice is presented, along with case histories and the current status of energy recovery from industrial waste. Over 500 tables, graphs and illustrations are incorporated in the text.