MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL - Environmentally Conscious Materials Handling - page 164

Kingdom proposed a comprehensive strategy to reduce waste (EFRA 2007). Fur-
thermore, zero waste concept has been proposed and promoted by various groups
(Connett 2000; Zero Waste Alliance 2008). Zero waste promotes waste preven-
tion, reuse, and recycling. In this context, it is not much different from the U.S.
EPA's tiered integrated waste management strategy. However, the goal of zero
waste is that all waste has to be recycled into the marketplace or nature so that
human health and environment are protected.
The management of MSW is a very complicated task for the government as
well as the public. Short-term solutions must be balanced with the long-term
consequences of solid waste management. For example, with the emphasis of
waste reduction, reuse, and recycle, the use of landfill and incineration in the
MSW management needs further and extensive evaluation. Locating new MSW
facilities will be a challenging task for the planners and engineers. Conflicting
interests such as environmental impacts, economical efficiency, and social justice
must be considered in choosing the management alternatives and locating MSW
facilities. Life-cycle analysis has been a useful tool to characterize the total
environmental and energy impact, while the inclusion of local communities and
environmental groups in the planning process can make the MSW management
implementation more feasible.
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my appreciation to Wanchi Huang for her assistance in
most of the data collection and in providing tables and figures based on those
data. I also benefited from the research conducted by my graduate students in
solid waste management for the past several years.
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