ABSTRACT
As recently as a few decades ago in the United States, the chemical, physical, and biological properties of the municipal solid waste stream were of little or no concern to the local hauling rm, the city council, or the citizens who generated the waste. Similarly, little thought was given to the total quantities of waste produced. Waste volumes may have appeared fairly consistent from year to year, since few measurements were made. Wastes were transported to the local landll or perhaps the town dump alongside the river for convenient nal disposal. The primary concerns regarding waste management were, at that time, aesthetic and economic, that is, removing nuisance materials from the curb or the dumpster quickly and conveniently, and at the lowest possible cost.
