The Science of Sustainability

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a waste product that becomes a form of pollution if not properly managed. MSW is more commonly thought of as garbage, refuse, or trash. Solid waste is not necessarily toxic but includes discarded materials that need to be properly processed and disposed. Examples of solid waste include household trash, used tires, discarded appliances, furniture, paints, and construction and demolition debris.

In 2008, the United States generated 389.5 million tons of solid waste. Only 24 percent of the waste was recycled, 6 percent was burned to produce energy, and the remaining 69 percent was landfilled". With 70 percent of waste being sent to landfills, there is still considerable opportunity for waste recovery for recycling or as an energy source.

Energy can be recovered from landfill sites through different forms, such as methane gas. Methane gas can be used to generate electricity or be burned as a heat source. However, the vast majority of waste is being disposed of, even though it contains resources (metals, plastics, and paper) that could be reused or recycled to reduce the demand on new resources. For example, cardboard that is recycled helps reduce the demand for trees to be cut down to make new cardboard.

The EPA encourages MSW to be managed through source reduction, recycling, and composting. Source reduction involves taking steps to reduce the waste material produced. This can include using materials more efficiently, reusing materials, or switching to substitutes that generate less waste. The average US recycling rate is 24 percent but has the potential to be considerably higher. There are opportunities for new sustainable businesses to better manage solid waste, including increasing the recycling rate and composting.

Ecomovement Consulting Composts Restaurant Leftovers

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita in the country and these restaurants generate a large volume of food waste that is expensive to dispose of. Entrepreneurs Rian Bedard and partner Marcel Miranda saw this waste as an opportunity and formed Ecomovement Consulting and Hauling (http://zerowastenow.com/) in 2009. Bedard stated, "I started to find out that no one was offering zero-waste services and everyone wanted it".

Customers pay for compostable bags and put the food waste in a recycling tote outside, which are then collected regularly by Ecomovement. The food waste is then brought to a local farm to be converted to compost, a high-value soil component sought after by gardeners and landscapers. In addition to restaurants, other large food waste generators have signed up with Ecomovement, including hospital cafeterias. In North America, only two cities can boast that all of their restaurants compost, but with an entrepreneurial company finding a niche missed by traditional waste management companies, Portsmouth is well on its way to becoming the third.