500B.C.
1388
1000
500B.C.
Ancient Times
1904
1899
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1916
1898
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1902
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1971
1942- 1945
1930
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1965
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2005
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1997
In 500 BC, the Athens organized the first municipal
landfill in the western world and required waste disposal
to be at least one mile from city walls.
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In 1388, English Parliament puts a
ban on waste disposal in public waterways
and ditches. Waste disposal methods
involve simply throwing garbage out
of windows and doors.
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A new invention in Nottingham, England called “The Destructor”
provides the first incineration of MSW.
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The first incinerator in the US is built on Governor’s Island,
New York.
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In 1898, Colonel Waring, New York City street cleaning commissioner,
creates a solid waste management program that ends ocean dumping ,
institutes mandatory household separation of wastes, and begins the first
recycling program.
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In 1899, the Rivers and Harbors Act began requiring the
Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the dumping of debris
In navigable waters and adjacent lands.
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Municipal Solid Waste Management becomes a norm in 1902.
By this time, 72% of US cities provided trash collection.
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The nation’s first major aluminum recycling plant opens in 1904.
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In 1916, cities switched from horsedrawn waste collection vehicles
to motorized ones.
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Through the 1940’s, Americans collected rubber, paper, scrap metal
fats, and tin cans in order to help the war effort.
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The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
publishes the standard guide to sanitary landfilling.
Visit the ASCE website: www.asce.org
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The Solid Waste Disposal Act, the nation’s first federal MSW
Management law is passed in 1965. The goals of this act were to:
1) Promote the demonstration, construction, and application of solid waste management
and resource recovery systems that preserve and enhance the quality of air, water and
and services.
2) Provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments and interstate
agencies in the planning and development of resource recovery and solid waste disposal
programs.
3) Promote a national research and development program for improved management techniques;
more effective organizational arrangements; new and improved methods of collection,
separation, recovery, and recycling of solid wastes; and the environmentally safe disposal of
of nonrecoverable residues.
4) Provide for the promulgation of guidelines for solid waste collection, transport, separation,
recovery, and disposal systems.
5) Provide for training grants in occupations involving the design, operation, and maintenance
of solid waste disposal systems.
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The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 was ammended in 1970 by
Public Law 95-512, the Resources Recovery Act of 1970. This act
emphasized that the main focus should be shifted from disposal as its
primary objective, to recycling and reuse of recoverable materials in
solid wastes, or to the conversion of wastes to energy.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developed in 1971.
Visit the EPA website at: www.epa.gov
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In 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was
Passed setting specific guidelines for solid waste storage, treatment,
and disposal. This act included both hazardous and solid waste.
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In its review of Philadelphia vs. New Jersey the US Supreme Court
invalidates a New Jersey law excluding out-of-state waste from public
and Private landfills.
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The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted to provide a means of directly
responding and funding the activities of response to problems at
uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites. Uncontrolled MSW landfills
are facilities that have not operated or are not operating under a RCRA
permit. Uncontrolled MSW landfills, both active and closed, are subject
to CERCLA activities if they are demonstrated to contain hazardous
waste or if to be the source of hazardous wastes. CERCLA became
commonly known as the “Superfund Law”.
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In 1981, the Public Utility Regulation and Policy Act (PURPA) was
enacted which directs public and private utilities to purchase power
from waste-to-energy facilities. This legislation has been used to
advance the use of solid waste as a fuel in generating electricity.
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The Mobro 4000, a barge carrying 6,000 tons of garbage is rejected
by Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, Belize, and Mexico.
After 173 days the load is incinerated at the Long Island landfill from
which it had been taken.
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The United States EPA sets a recycling goal of 25%. Medical
Waste washes up on eastern US beaches.
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Bill Rathe recovers 18 year old corn-on-the-cob, meat, and orange
Carrots from an Arizona landfill confirming the lack of
biodegradation in some landfills.
Visit one of Dr. Rathe’s experiments.
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RCRA Subtitle D establishes minimum design and operating
Criteria for MSW landfills.
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The US Supreme Court holds that flow control is unconstitutional.
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In 1997, the EPA increased the recycling goal to 35%.
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