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TOTAL SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL AND PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE IN TEXAS,
1986-2000
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Disposal refers only to solid waste received by permitted landfills.
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Source: TNRCC, Annual Reporting Program for Permitted MSW
Facilities: 1997 Data Report (November 30, 1998), Attachment 6. TNRCC, Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years, 2003-2007. Vol 2.
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According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, in 2000,Texans disposed (only refers to landfill
disposal) of approximately 28. 6 million tons of municipal solid waste and spent more than $1 billion for solid waste management.*
MSW includes everyday items such as grass clippings, household garbage, newspapers, food scraps, clothing, bottles, paint, batteries, etc.
Municipal solid waste, including household hazardous
waste, is disposed of through landfills, incineration, waste-to-energy facilities, and land application (for sludge). Recycling and composting also are used to manage municipal solid waste.* In Texas, as in most other places in the United States, landfill disposal is still the predominant method of solid waste management.
All of these methods, including illegal dumping, have accompanying environmental and/or financial issues.
In 1998 the municipal solid waste disposal rate for
Texans was 6.5 pounds per person per day, and the rate stayed fairly steady between 1992 and 1998. This disposal rate is based on every item that goes
into a landfill, including construction and demolition debris and sludge.*In
2000, the per capita disposal rate was 7.5 pounds per day based on the disposal of (refers to landfill disposal) 28.6 million tons of MSW (more than
2,700 pounds per person). This represents a 4.5 percent increase since 1990, and a 30 percent increase since 1998.
In 2000 approximately 36,249 tons of the total waste received by municipal solid waste facilities in Texas came from
bordering states and Mexico.* Texas exported approximately 464,212 tons of MSW, and recycled 15,676,863 tons of MSW*
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MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN TEXAS, 1999
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Source: TNRCC, Annual Reporting Program for Permitted MSW
Facilities: 1999 Data Report
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The amount of municipal solid waste that is diverted to incineration is quite small
Texas and federal laws specify the following "hierarchy" from the most- to the least-preferred
methods of management for municipal solid waste (excluding sludge):*
- source reduction;
- reuse or recycling;
- treatment to destroy or reprocess waste to recover energy or other beneficial resources if
the treatment does not threaten public health, safety, or the environment; or
- land disposal, including landfills and sludge application.
Each method has its costs and its benefits. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality oversaw the
development and implementation of local and regional municipal solid waste plans that incorporate this hierarchy. To
date, all 24 Councils of Governments have developed regional municipal solid waste plans.
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SOLID WASTE IN TEXAS, 2000
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MANAGEMENT METHOD
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TONS
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Generation
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44,791,043
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Landfill
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28,649,966
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Combustion*
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41,626
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Recycling
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15,676,865
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Net exports
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464,212
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Per Capita Rate: 7.52 (lbs/person/day)
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*Solid waste combustion includes basic incineration as well as waste-to-energy
conversion.
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Source: TNRCC, Annual Reporting Program for Permitted MSW
Facilities, Austin, July 2001
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Municipal waste, when properly managed, does not pose an immediate threat to human health or the
environment. In Texas, however, there have been incidents where municipal solid waste has threatened both the public health and the environment:
- In 1994 at least 28 landfills were discovered to have caused groundwater pollution.*
- In 1994 methane gas had "migrated" beyond acceptable levels at 63 municipal landfills.*
- 1991 residents of an Austin apartment complex built on an old municipal landfill had to be evacuated due to methane
accumulation in several apartment units.
- In 1992, 63 percent of the 420 landfills open in Texas were located within one mile of residential land uses.*
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