The U.S. Should Phase Out Landfilling, as China and the E.U. Are Doing
May 12 2021 | By NICKOLAS J. THEMELIS | Graph Credit: Earth Engineering Center, Columbia
Around the world, economic development has been accompanied by the generation of about 2 billion tons of urban waste each year. The developed nations have put a lot of effort into sorting out recyclable materials, but there are practical and economic limits as to how much of the waste can be recycled. According to EPA and other reports, the U.S. recycling plus composting rate has leveled out at about 32%. In the European Union, the rate is closer to 46%.