Solid Waste

Basic Facts About Solid Waste

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) defines the term solid waste as:

Garbage, also known as municipal solid waste (e.g., milk cartons and coffee grounds)
Refuse (e.g., metal scrap, wall board, and empty containers)
Sludges from waste treatment plants, water supply treatment plants, or pollution control facilities (e.g., scrubber slags)
Nonhazardous industrial wastes (e.g., manufacturing process wastewaters and nonwastewater sludges and solids)
Other discarded materials, including solid, semisolid, liquid, or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial and commercial activities, (e.g., mining waste, oil and gas waste, construction and demolition debris, medical waste, agricultural waste, household hazardous waste, and Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator Waste)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Did you know.....?
What is municipal solid waste?
How should we manage municipal solid waste?
What federal regulations exist for municipal solid waste disposal facilities?
How can I get additional information about municipal solid waste?
State Contacts

Did you know.....?

In 1998, Americans generated 220.2 million tons of municipal solid waste of which: 22.2 percent (49 million tons) was recovered for recycling; 6 percent (13.1 million tons) was recovered for composting; and 71.8 percent (158.1 million tons) landfilled or combusted.
In the United States, the per capita generation of municipal solid waste (garbage) in 1998 was 4.46 pounds per person per day, compared to 4.43 pounds per person per day in 1995. This number is higher than European countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom which generate around two to three pounds per person per day.

What is municipal solid waste?

Municipal solid waste, commonly known as garbage, is a subset of solid waste and is defined as durable goods (e.g., appliances, tires, and batteries), nondurable goods, containers and packaging, food wastes, yard trimmings, and miscellaneous organic wastes from residential, commercial, and industrial nonprocess sources.

How should we manage municipal solid waste?

EPA recommends using an integrated, hierarchical approach to solid waste management. This approach promotes source reduction first, followed by reuse, recycling, and then landfilling or combustion.

The hierarchy favors source reduction to reduce both the volume and toxicity of waste and to increase the useful life of manufactured products.

More Information on Waste Reduction

What federal regulations exist for municipal solid waste disposal facilities?

Laws and Regulations

How can I get additional information about solid waste?

Web Sites

Contacts

EPA Region 9 Solid Waste Program Contacts

Arizona
LaMar Brown, (brown.lamar@azdeq.gov)
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: (602) 771-4134

California
Office of Public Affairs, (opa@ciwmb.ca.gov)
California Integrated Waste Management Board
phone: (916) 341-6300

Hawaii
Lene Ichinotsubo, (linchinotsubo@eha.health.state.hi.us)
Hawaii Department of Health
phone: (808) 586-7497

Nevada
Ed Glick, (eglick@ndep.nv.gov)
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
phone: (775)687-9467

Publications

Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1999 Update

RCRA Online Brochure (PDF) (2 pp, 267K, About PDF)

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