Municipal Solid Waste Recycling
Loading...
Authors
Beal, Scott
Issue Date
2012
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Recycling is a valid response to a potentially catastrophic environmental problem.
The United States has increased its overall recycling rate considerably over the past half-century.
The human economy, however, continues to propagate the extraction and
consumption of finite natural resources at rapid and unsustainable rates. Waste that could
be recycled is being land-filled and incinerated, leading to myriad forms of
environmental degradation. Recycling practices effectively reduce degradation and
augment resource scarcity. Future generations stand to receive the costs of the current
generation's actions without being able to enjoy the corresponding benefits. This paper
examines in depth 1) the current state of the recycling industry in the United States; 2)
intergenerational equity in terms of environmental quality and resource availability; 3)
the inadequacies of environmental policy making based on cost-benefit analysis
methodologies, including the use of discount rates; and 4) potential solutions to the
aforementioned issues.
Description
52 p.
Citation
Publisher
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.