Lessons from Long Island on Computing Recycling Rates – 2000

Recycling rates result from the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). MSW is composed of the non-hazardous residues produced at residences, businesses, and institutions. Certain materials are usually excluded from the definition of MSW, although they are solid wastes or are produced at residences, businesses, or institutions. Excluded materials include liquid septic wastes, solid residues and sludge from sewage treatment, automobiles, and construction and demolition debris (C&D). Certain other wastes that do not fit the original definition of MSW are, however, usually included in practical determinations of MSW. These include small amounts of residentially generated hazardous wastes such as cleansers and household insecticides, and office and cafeteria wastes from industrial sites. Unfortunately, there is not complete agreement on these definitions. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently determined the nation’s waste stream to be 210 million tons per year, but BioCycle’s annual survey computed a waste stream of nearly double that at 390 million tons for 1999 (most of the difference was due to BioCycle’s inclusion of C&D in its assessment).