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OVERVIEW <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />AS a nation we dispose of more than 150 million tons of municipal solid waste <br />annually. Every day, each American generates an average of four pounds of <br />such waste. Almost every municipality provides a collection system and disposal <br />method for this discarded waste and it is costly. Solid waste management ranks third <br />only after schools and roads in most municipal budgets. <br /> <br />Presently, there are only four options in solid waste management: <br /> <br />· Reducing volume for disposal by processing. <br />· Removing recyclable or reusable materials. <br /> <br />· Burning for volume reduction or energy. <br /> <br />· Landfilling. <br /> <br />Recycling is cnly a partial soh, tion to the solid waste management problem. There will <br />always be a need for landfills; however, maximizing the separation of recyclable ~nate- <br />rials that can be reused offers the highest and best use of our waste and should receive <br />top priority in any solid waste management plan. <br /> <br /> ' <br />Recycling: <br /> <br />· CONSERVES NATURAL RESOURCES and reduces the demand for both foreign <br /> and domestic raw materials. <br /> <br />· CONSERVES LANDFILL SPACE by reducing the amount of municpal solid waste. <br /> <br />· CONSERVES ENERGY otherwise used in the securing, transporting and manufac- <br /> turing of some products made from primary raw materials. <br /> <br />[] GENERATES REVENUES by selling many recyclables previously buried or <br /> burned. <br /> <br />[] DEMONSTRATES COMMUNITY COMMITMENT toward reducing solid waste <br /> and preserving the quaiity of the environment. <br /> <br />11 <br /> <br /> <br />