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Cleaner Technology Projects in Denmark 1996

The American Waste Handling System

The US produces a large quantity of waste. The average American produce approx. twice as much waste as the average Dane and the main part of the waste is deposited. Not until the nineties did they begin to give priority to the waste handling area in order to reduce the quantity of waste and increase the recycling of materials, since there is no political willingness or possibility to place environmental demands on the Federal States. However, where the local politicians and the public have a positive attitude, splendid results are seen in the recycling area.

In the US the waste handling system is privatised to a wide extent. The result of this is that the municipalities have little knowledge of the waste flow and lack political support to manage it. It is not possible to manage the waste with general rules and guidelines, because it is necessary to enter into an agreement with each single haulage contractor. The transportation between the states is therefore uncontrolled. As a result of this, the municipalities not only make sure they get the waste because they own a waste disposal plant – the waste will automatically end up where it is cheapest to dispose it of.

Against this background it is paradoxical that the authorities at different levels spend more time on making war on each other discussing which jurisdiction should be under which administrative level, instead of discussing, seen from an environmental point of view, what is better administered in the public and the private sector, respectively.

On the other hand, there are some examples of successful programmes carried out by the public sector. Especially programmes which aim at promoting the demand for recycling materials and at developing the market for recycling materials. In this connection it is relevant to mention the Recycling Market Development Zone in California, which is worth taking a closer look at both in Denmark and in Europe.

As for the enthusiastic part of the publication, there is generally a greater commitment to recycling in the USA than in Denmark. As a consequence of this, in the US, at all levels, they spend more money on information campaigns to change attitudes than in Denmark.

As regards to the technical level in the waste area, the US is not ahead of Europe or Denmark. Though, there are some plants and activities in the US, which could be a source of inspiration. An example is the waste disposal site technology because many places they use membrane systems, which outperform the Danish and the European when it comes to safety.

Also, when it comes to collection systems, the Americans are far more efficient than we are. This is due to the fact that the citizens in the USA can take the garbage to the road themselves instead of, as in Denmark, having it collected from their private ground.

As regards to the work environment the conditions in the USA are beneath contempt. One exception is the collection of waste in side-loader vehicles, which compared to the traditional Danish collecting system without carts, is a work environmentally better alternative.

Seen from a future perspective, it would be frightening if the American system with growing waste quantities, increased market dominance and smaller possibility of managing the waste flow became reality in Denmark.

Author/ institution

Henrik Jacobsen, Reno-Sam

This report is subsidised by the National Council for Recycling and Cleaner Production

ISSN no. 0908-9195
ISBN no. 87-7810-625-7

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