True, America has operated in a mixed economic environment for much of the past century, but it appears that the balance between the market and planned economic forces has shifted substantially in favor of the latter. During this time, we’ve seen many of our nation’s institutions and systems fall prey to the agenda of organizations—public and private alike—whose interests are quite separate from the specific purpose at hand. For better and worse, solid waste management is one of these. While there’s little argument that today’s collection, processing, and disposal systems are greatly improved over those in place at the start of the last decade, at the same time we’ve allowed for—and often been party to—the continuation of barriers that threaten to stifle competition and innovation that are the lifeblood of continued improvement.
I think it is safe to say that most waste professionals believe that integrated waste management offers the best opportunity for meeting the myriad challenges we face both in our custodial and stewardship roles, but what does this mean? Does it mean that we continue to support nonperforming practices for political reasons or try to wring the last bit of success from present systems for fear of offending the beliefs and sensitivities of their supporters? Does it mean that we ought to subsidize some practices in favor of others to fulfill an agenda that might or might not be relevant to the task at hand? I hope not, because these practices are products of a misguided mindset that jeopardize our ability to apply continuous improvement to our various activities.
I know it sounds heretical, but were it up to me, I’d dispense with all subsidies that affect waste management: landfilling, recycling, composting, WTE, and—yes—even those that favor the extraction and use of virgin materials in such areas as manufacturing and production of energy. Then, with the guidance of regulating agencies on such matters as national security and preservation of our environment, let the free-enterprise system determine how best to manage our materials, cradle to grave.
What are your thoughts?