EPA Municipal Waste Combustion Activities

by Stephen S. Greene, US EPA, Washington, DC, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Dioxin and Resource Recovery

Abstract:

In many areas of the country, existing municipal waste landfills are reaching capacity. Land for new landfills or expansions is scarce and expensive, and municipalities would generally prefer to put it toward other uses. There are growing concerns about potential adverse environmental effects from landfilling municipal waste. The cost of landfilling may increase when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revises its criteria for sanitary landfills (in March 1988) to mitigate these effects, under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Although many municipalities view municipal waste combustion as an attractive approach to waste disposal, it has also raised concerns. In particular, two environmental concerns are commonly voiced: concern over air emissions, especially dioxins, and over the constituents in the residual ash.

Subject Headings: Municipal wastes | Waste disposal | Recycling | Environmental Protection Agency | Landfills | Federal government | Combustion

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