Basic Data for Solid Waste Pilot Study

Solid waste management has been plagued by high cost, lagging technology, pollution hazards, and public dissatisfaction. The attempts to improve solid waste management practices in the United States have suffered because of the paucity of reliable and standardized technical data and the absence of a mechanism for disseminating data when available. An effective technical data system is clearly needed that would gather essential information about the operation of representative solid waste systems and develop it into meaningful data to assist engineers, planners, and other decision makers concerned with solid waste management. To satisfy this need, a study was initiated to determine the feasibility of establishing a basic data network for solid waste management on a regular, reliable, and uniform basis. A pilot network was established in three Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Data from this system have demonstrated the practicality of instituting a national data network for solid waste management.