An urban community that is considering having its own waste management system needs to establish a framework for deciding how to manage Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) when it is generated. In doing so, it is important to make a clear distinction between prevention and management activities to ensure that adequate attention is focused on each. Prevention refers to activities by manufacturers (such as modifying products, including packaging, to reduce the toxicity or quantity of products before they are manufactured)--for example, the program proposed by the Canadian packaging society, in which they pledged to financially support the 540 municipal recycling programs in the Province of Ontario-- and by consumers (such as modifying purchasing decisions to buy products that are less toxic or more durable).
The motivation for promoting MSW prevention is strong. Reducing toxicity would make all management methods safer and could restore public confidence in waste management policies and programs. For example, reducing the amounts and types of organic chemicals in landfills would mean less air pollution (such as chemicals that contain volatile components) and less toxic leachate. Quantity reduction would mean that the useful life of existing and future waste management facilities would be extended and new replacement capacity could be developed at a slower rate.
Even assuming notable progress in waste prevention, communities will continue to generate large amounts of MSW requiring management. In addition, unless prevention efforts successfully reduce the toxicity of all products, toxic constituents will remain in MSW, either because some products are toxic (such as pesticides) or contain substances that can be harmless in the product but pose toxicity problems during waste management (such as cadmium in some plastics). For these reasons, a comprehensive MSW strategy must consider not only prevention, but also better materials manag...