Trace the historical development of refuse disposal in the United States. What percentages now go to landfills, combustion, and recycling?
What will be an ideal response?
"Until the 1960s, most MSW was burned in open dumps. The waste was burned to reduce its volume and lengthen the life span of the dump, but refuse does not burn well. Smoldering dumps produced clouds of smoke that could be seen from miles away, smelled bad, and created a breeding ground for flies and rats. Some cities turned to incinerators, or combustion facilities, as they are called today: huge furnaces in which high temperatures allow the waste to burn more completely than in open dumps. Without controls, however, incinerators were prime sources of air pollution. Public objection and air pollution laws forced the phase out of open dumps and many incinerators during the 1960s and early 1970s. Open dumps were then converted to landfills. In the United States in 2010, 54.2% of MSW was disposed of in landfills, 34.1% was recovered for recycling and composting, and the remainder (11.7%) was combusted."
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