Quantification of municipal solid waste management in the United States – with comparative analysis to other estimates

Abstract

The Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) recently completed a study to quantify the amount of MSW managed in the United States. The study represents the first to use a bottom-up, facility-based methodology in the U.S. to improve accuracy and more discretely track the amount of waste managed. Over 9,000 facilities managing municipal solid waste (MSW) were identified through the course of the study (landfills, WTE incinerators, recycling facilities, composting operations, and anaerobic digesters), and information on the amount and types of waste managed were collected. Results suggest 1.4 times more MSW is managed in 2013 than previously suggested by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) estimates. Data show that the majority of MSW was landfilled and the least amount of tonnage was composted.