No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Solid Waste Disposal in Rural Areas: Economic Implications*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2015
Extract
Solid waste disposal is a significant problem. It has been estimated that almost a ton of solid waste is collected per year per capita in the United States. Solid waste disposal, especially in rural areas, is frequently done in an unsanitary, potentially dangerous and often unslightly manner. To cope with these solid waste problems, both state legislatures and the Environmental Protection Agency are now in the process of requiring communities which presently utilize unsanitary disposal practices to upgrade their facilities and management practices. A sanitary landfill operation1 is usually the least-cost method of accomplishing these requirements, especially in rural areas.2 Quality facilities and management practices are not costless, however. It is estimated that the U.S. spends more than $4.5 billion each year on solid waste management, and more than 80 percent of this amount is for collection.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1977
Footnotes
*
The authors wish to thank Dr. Elmer Menzie, Paul Hoyt and three journal reviewers for comments on an earlier draft. Shortcomings are, of course, the authors'. Reported research was supported by the Natural Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, USDA, and the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Arizona.
References
[1[
Clayton, Kenneth C. and Huie, John M.. Solid Waste Management: A Regional Approach, Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1973.Google Scholar
[2[
Golueke, C. G.
Comprehensive Studies of Solid Waste Management: Third Annual Report, Washington: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1971.Google Scholar
[3[
Hardy, William E. Jr. and Grissom, Curtis L.. “An Economic Analysis of a Regionalized Rural Solid Waste Management System,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, May 1976, pp. 179–85.Google Scholar
[4[
Hogan, David. “Solid Waste Disposal in Rural Arizona, Application of a Least-Cost Model,” M.S. Thesis, Department of Agriculturaltural Economics, The University of Arizona, 1974.Google Scholar
[5[
Kiefer, Irene. “Mathematical Analysis of Solid Waste Collection” as condensed by Marks, David H. and Liebman, Jon D., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.Google Scholar
[6[
Morse, Norman and Roth, Edwin W.. Systems Analysis of Regional Solid Waste Handling, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970.Google Scholar
[7[
Salkin, Michael S. “Solid Waste Planning: Components and Costs for a Rural System in Southeastern Oklahoma,” Research Report P-717, Agricultural Experiment Station, Oklahoma State University, May 1975.Google Scholar
[8[
Schreiner, Dean, Muncrief, George and Davis, Bob. “Solid Waste Management for Rural Areas: Analysis of Costs and Service Requirements,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, November 1973, pp. 567–76.Google Scholar
[9[
Shonerd, Wesley, Public Health Engineer. Division of Sanitation, Environmental Health Services, Phoenix, Arizona, personal communication, February 23, 1973.Google Scholar
[10[
U.S. Department of Commerce. 1967 Census of Governments, State Reports #3, Arizona, Volume 7, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967, p. 21.Google Scholar