As populations continue to increase, society produces more and more waste. Yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to build new landfills, and the existing landfills are causing significant environmental damage. Finding solutions is not simple; the problem is enormous in size, vital in terms of its impact on the environment, and complex in scope. This book provides a vast look at solid waste management in North America and seeks solutions to the waste crisis. It describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem, focusing on municipal wastes and placing them in the perspective of other wastes such as hazardous, biochemical, and radioactive debris. It describes the components of an integrated waste management program, including recycling, composting, landfills, and waste incinerators, and it presents in detail the scientific and engineering principles underlying these technologies. To illustrate both the problems and solutions of waste management programs, the authors provide seven case histories, among them the Fresh Kills (Staten Island, New York), the East Carbon Landfill (Utah), and the Lancaster County Municipal Waste Incinerator (Pennsylvania). The Waste Crisis is unique in its attempt to analyze waste management in a broader societal context and to propose solutions based on basic principles. And by doing so, it encourages readers to challenge commonly held perceptions and to seek new and better ways of dealing with waste. As such, this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone who deals with or feels the need to confront the growing problems of waste management.

Hans Y. Tammemagi's profile page

Dr. Tammemagi, a geophysicist, is head of an environmental consulting firm he founded, Oakhill Environmental. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, Brock University, and a regular contributor of newspaper and magazine articles on environmental and energy issues.

"Hans Tammemagi does the almost unimaginable: takes a subject as inherently unappealing as garbage, and makes it interesting and relevant. His book is thoroughly researched, well written, and, despite the seriousness of his timely topic, surprisingly readable." -- Niagara Book Prize Short List Jury

"Chapters discuss garbage through the ages, the age of consumerism and the waste explosion, integrated waste management, recycling and composting, waste characteristics, alternative disposal methods (existing and abandoned mines, landfill reclamation to extend the lifespan of old dumps, ocean dumping, deep-well injection, deep injection of liquid waste in cement slurry form, sub-seabed disposal), incineration issues, containment and encapsulation, case histories, siting problems of NIMBY and BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone), and a new approach that considers human health and the environment, future generations, and conservation of resources. A concluding chapter, Futuristic Garbology, presents an ideal vision of waste in 2032 ... A simply-written textbook that seems to cover all points."--Future Survey

"A realpolitik book on the need for recycling to reduce waste, landfills for what can't be recycled, and incinerators when approrpiate....The best overview."--Whole Earth

"This textbook examines solid waste management in North America and solutions to the waste crisis, using seven case studies for illustration. The focus is on municipal waste, but this is placed in the perspective of hazardous, biomedical, and radioactive wastes as well."--SciTech Book News