A market research project for the implementation of a regional recycling strategy

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1989

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Southern New Hampshire University

Abstract

As stated in the thesis project, "The major problem that my project addresses is the solid waste crisis, the result of our country's production of more than 400,000 tons of trash a day. Eighty to ninety per cent of this enormous garbage glut is presently being disposed of in our nation's landfills. These landfills are rapidly reaching capacity. In New Hampshire, for example, sixty-six landfills and dumps statewide are currently in the process of closure. A recent study by the federal Environmental Protection Agency concluded that one half of all the municipalities in the United States will run out of landfill space within the next ten years. The remaining twenty per cent of our country's waste stream is either incinerated or recycled.

Government planners increasingly advocate waste-to-energy plants as the "solution" to the garbage crisis. Mass-burn incinerators, as they are called, are considered by many to be a threat to both human health and the environment at large. In addition, they have not proven to be as affordable a method of garbage disposal as had been hoped, in the cases of most communities that use them to deal with their solid waste.

The solution that many communities, both nationally and internationally, are beginning to embrace is to recycle or source-separate garbage into its different material components. Recycling is they only way to assure ecologically sound and safe waste management technologies. In short, it is imperative that our society begin to recycle, reuse, and reduce its waste stream. The cultural and economic changes needed to bring about an enlightened awareness regarding the creation and disposal of solid waste will require coordinated efforts on the parts of businesses, government, and consumers." (Library-derived description)

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