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Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Disposal

Table 3.    xls   pdf   format Table 3. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Disposal (Percent by Weight) Year 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2003 2004 2005 Total materials recovery  6.4 6.6 9.6 16.2 29.1 31.1 31.4 32.1        Recycling 6.4 6.6 9.6 14.2 22.2 23.2 23.1 23.8        Composting a s s s 2 6.9 7.9 8.3 8.4 Combustion with energy recovery b  0 0.3 1.8 14.5 14.2 14 13.8 13.6 Discards to landfill, other disposal c 93.6 93.1 88.6 69.3 56.7 54.9 54.8 54.3   a Composting of yard trimmings, food scraps, and other MSW organic material. Does not include backyard composting.   b Includes combustion of MSW in mass burn, modular, and refuse-derived fuel plants.   c Includes all other MSW that is not recovered for recycling, composting or combustion (with energy recovery).     These discards are generally disposed of in landfills.    Note: Details may not add to totals due to rounding.