Integrated solid waste management: Toward a recycling model

Integrated Solid Waste Management systems consist, in order of their occurrence, of source reduction, recycling, composting, combustion, and landfilling. Present theory and practice emphasize recycling as the stage with the greatest potential for dealing with the problem of rapidly growing solid wastes. The central proposition of this dissertation is that the rate of recycling is largely dependent on local political, demographic, economic, and technological conditions. To test this, the recycling rates of 221 counties of Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania were examined. Primary data were gathered using a questionnaire-based survey sent to all 221 county recycling coordinators. An overall response rate of 62.9 percent was achieved. Twenty-four variables were tested for their relationship to recycling rates. Of these, four demographic variables, two economic variables, and four technological variables were identified as being significantly (p<0.05) related to the recycling rates in one or more states. No political variables were found to be significantly related to recycling rates in any state. A recycling model was developed for each state using multiple regression techniques. The Florida and Minnesota models suggest that recycling is highly influenced by local demographic factors, while the Pennsylvania model suggests that in that state the dominant influence is exerted by technological factors. The study developed the importance of the concept of per capita daily generation of municipal solid wastes. This concept, labeled "CMSW" was not found in the literature, but emerged from the study itself. CMSW, combined with the concept of non-recycled CMSW, were highlighted as practical and theoretically relevant variables for use in future research in the area of solid waste management.