LYCEUM-NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Tapuac District, Dagupan City

Institute of Graduates and Professional Studies

Position Paper 1: Solid Waste Management of United States and Sweden

Subject: Environmental Conflict and Social Change
Student: Allan R. Abeleda
Course: MED- Social Studies
Professor: Dr. Rodrigo P. de Vera

Solid Waste Management in the United States of America

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates all waste
material under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Solid waste can
include garbage and sludge from wastewater and water supply treatment plants, as well as other
discarded materials from industrial operations. The RCRA includes provisions on the disposal of
solid and hazardous waste materials. This legislation encourages individual states to create
comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous and municipal wastes. The western region in the
country currently has the highest number of landfills 186346. These landfills must comply with
federal regulations in preventing contamination as well as providing monitoring systems for
groundwater contamination and landfill gases. The management company must also assure
funding for environmental protection throughout the entire life cycle of a landfill. Under
environmental regulations in the country, the amount of municipal solid waste that has been
recovered has consistently increased over the last several decades.
A municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) is a discrete area of land or excavation that
receives household waste. A MSWLF may also receive other types of nonhazardous wastes, such
as commercial solid waste, nonhazardous sludge, conditionally exempt small quantity generator
waste, and industrial nonhazardous solid waste. In 2009, there were approximately 1,908
MSWLFs in the continental United States all managed by the states where they are located.
Non-hazardous solid waste is regulated under Subtitle D of RCRA. States play a lead role in
ensuring the federal criteria for operating municipal solid waste and industrial waste landfills
regulations are met, and they may set more stringent requirements. In absence of an approved
state program, the federal requirements must be met by waste facilities. The revised criteria
in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 258 addresses seven major aspects of
MSWLFs, which include the following:

Disposal

Before the 1980s most of the waste generated was either landfilled or burned. More than 90% of
the municipal solid waste was landfilled or disposed with less than 7% materials recovery during
the 1960s and 70s. This trend started changing after the 1980s when landfill disposal declined to
about 54% and resource recovery increased to more than 33%.The most recent numbers from the
EPA indicate that in 2012 the US municipal solid waste recycle rate was 34.5%. This section
describes the common methods of solid waste disposal practiced in United States and worldwide.

 Landfills: These are technically designed areas where waste is disposed scientifically. They
are characterized by liners that prevent seepage of leachates into the groundwater. There are
different designs for landfills used for municipal solid waste or household waste,
construction & demolition waste, and hazardous waste. According to an EPA report, the
number of municipal solid waste landfills has gone down from 7924 in 1988 to 1754 in
2006. There were close to 1900 construction & demolition landfills in 1994.
 Combustion or Incineration: Combustion or incineration of waste reduces the amount of
landfill space needed by burning waste in a controlled manner and also generates electricity
through waste-to-energy technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic
digestion, fermentation, etc.
 Transfer Stations: Transfer stations are intermediate facilities where the collected municipal
solid waste is unloaded from collection trucks, compacted to reduce the volume of the waste,
and held for a short time before it is reloaded onto larger, long-distance trucks or containers
for shipment to landfills or other treatment and disposal facilities.
 Recovery & Recycling: Wastes are also good sources of raw materials. Recovery
and recycling of wastes can help to reduce the use of virgin materials for producing new
goods. Recycling construction & demolition waste can also save the space in landfills and
large amounts of materials like metals, glass, plastics, and cardboards can be recovered.
 Composting: Composting is a way to return nutrients back into the environment by allowing
microorganisms to turn the waste into manure. Applying this manure to agricultural land can
 improve the fertility of the soil providing it essential nutrients. It is estimated that 27.8% of
the municipal solid waste generated in United States in 2009 was organic waste consisting of
yard trimmings and food waste that is compostable. The agricultural and animal waste
generated can also be composted and used as manure. For example, it is estimated that a
dairy cow produces approximately 40 pounds of waste (dung, urine) per day which can be
dried and used as manure. This manure can also be used in digesters to
produce biogas (methane gas) or electricity, and other biofuels like ethanol.

Solution that Works now in USA:

 Pass federal and state legislation that would promote, enhance, or facilitate development
of resource recovery facilities, including those for recycling, composting, reuse, and
energy recovery, as well as technologies for reduction of waste generation.
 Promote development of cost effective recycling and sustainable waste handling
options for municipalities, specifically in communities where scale and/or the use of
older outdated systems is an impediment.
 Allow for the interstate movement of MSW to regional solid waste facilities designed
in accordance with state and federal regulations as part of regional solid waste
planning efforts.
 Fund research into alternatives for use of waste, including examining approaches used in
other countries.
 Require manufacturers to meet standards for the generation of recyclable materials.
 Address the true cost of waste – such as through deposits on bottles and fees on
plastic bags.
 Change the way Americans think of solid waste beyond “garbage” or “trash,”
to understand that “waste is not waste until it is wasted.” The materials
Americans routinely discard are potential resources.

https://www.epa.gov/landfills/municipal-solid-waste-landfills
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_waste_policy_in_the_United_States
 Solid Waste Management in Sweden
Sweden is considered as a global leader in sustainable waste management and in the
reduction of per capita carbon footprint. The country consistently works to lower its greenhouse
gas emissions, improve energy efficiency and increase public awareness. Over the past 10 years,
Sweden developed methods of repurposing waste, so less than one percent of the total waste
generated in the country makes it to landfills. To accomplish this, the country changed their
perspective of garbage.

Recycling is a part of Swedish culture. Residents regularly sort recyclable materials and food
scraps from other waste in their homes before disposal. This streamlines the recycling process
and reduces the effort required to sort large volumes of waste at larger recycling centers. As
another way to promote recycling, the Swedish government created legislation stating recycling
centers must be within 1,000 feet of residential areas. Conveniently located facilities encourage
citizens to properly dispose of their waste.

Citizens are also encouraged to reuse or repurpose materials before recycling or disposing of
them. Repurposing and reusing products requires less energy when compared to the recycling or
waste disposal process. As Swedes use more repurposed products, they reduce the volume of
new products they consume which are created from fresh materials. In turn, the country
preserves more of its resources.

Over 50 percent of the waste generated in Sweden is burned in waste-to-energy facilities. The
energy produced by these facilities heats homes across the country during the long winter
months. Localized heating — known as district heating — has improved air quality throughout
the nation. It’s easier and more economical to control the emissions from several locations as
opposed to multiple, smaller non-point sources.
Another benefit of waste-to-energy facilities is that ash and other byproducts of the burning
process can be used for road construction materials. As a whole, Sweden doesn’t create enough
waste to fuel its waste to energy plants — the country imports waste from its neighbors to keep
its facilities going.

https://www.bioenergyconsult.com/waste-management-sweden/

Solid Wasted Management of the Philippines

The experiences and practices of household waste management of people in a barangay (village) in
Manila, Philippines are documented. The data were gathered through an interview with household
members using open-ended questions. Interviews were also conducted with garbage collectors as well as
scavengers. Results showed that the households generated an average of 3.2 kg of solid waste per day,
or 0.50 kg/capita/day. The types of wastes commonly generated are food/kitchen wastes, papers, PET
bottles, metals, and cans, boxes/cartons, glass bottles, cellophane/plastics, and yard/garden wastes. The
respondents segregate their wastes into PET bottles, glass bottles, and other waste (mixed wastes). No
respondents perform composting. It is worth noting, however, that burning of waste is not done by the
respondents. The households rely on garbage collection by the government. Collection is done twice
daily, except Sundays, and household members bring their garbage when the garbage truck arrives.
However, there are those who dump their garbage in nondesignated pick-up points, usually in a corner of
the street. The dumped garbage becomes a breeding ground for disease-causing organisms. Some
household respondents said that it is possible that the dumping in certain areas caused the dengue fever
suffered by some of their family members. Mothers and household helpers are responsible for household
waste management. Scavengers generally look for recyclable items in the dumped garbage. All of them
said that it is their only source of income, which is generally not enough for their meals. They are also
aware that their work affects their health. Most of the respondents said that garbage collection and
disposal is the responsibility of the government. The results of the study showed that RA 9003, also
known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, is not fully implemented in Metro Manila.

Questions:

1. What do we have in common with United States of America in terms of Solid Waste
Management? In Sweden?

Answer:

The only thing that we have in common in USA and Sweden is we have law
in disposing solid waste materials. Segregation of Biodegradable, Non-
biodegradable and Recycled Materials are also practiced by the Filipinos.
Recyclable materials also are being practiced by our country.

2. What good practices should we adopt from these two countries?

Answer:
We should adopt the Sweden’s recycling system. Today, recycling stations
are as a rule no more than 300 metres from any residential area. Most Swedes
separate all recyclable waste in their homes and deposit it in special containers in
their block of flats or drop it off at a recycling station. Few other nations deposit less
in rubbish dumps and also the Waste to Energy Campaign of Sweden. Waste is a
relatively cheap fuel and Sweden has, over time, developed a large capacity and skill
in efficient and profitable waste treatment. In 2014, Sweden even imported 2.7
million tonnes of waste from other countries.