ABSTRACT
The term solid waste includes all of the heterogeneous mass of throw-aways from urban areas, as well as the more homogeneous accumulation of agricultural, industrial and mineral wastes. In urban communities the accumulation of solid waste is a direct and primary consequence of life. This accumulation adds up to approximately 4 pounds of solid waste per person every day in the US. When the population was smaller, the available landfill space seemingly unlimited, the waste materials predominantly natural (as opposed to synthetic), and the understanding of possible harmful effects minimal, public concern regarding solid waste management was usually limited to quite local issues of dependable collection and mitigation of nuisance factors such as truck traffic and odor. The need for a nationally based solid waste management system became apparent in the 1970s. Properly dealing with large amounts of complex waste is what solid waste management is all about.
