MS Thesis: Generation and Disposition of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the United States – A National Survey
By Dolly Shin
Advisor: Professor Nickolas J. Themelis
Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering
Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science
Columbia University
January 3, 2014
In 2002-2010, the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University conducted a bi-annual survey on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Generation and Disposition in the U.S., in collaboration with Ms. Nora Goldstein of BioCycle journal. This survey, published in BioCycle journal as “State of Garbage in America” (SOG), was based on data provided by the waste management agencies of the fifty states. The SOG survey was not carried out in 2012 and in 2013 EEC and BioCycle agreed that the 2013 Survey of Waste Generation and Disposition in the U.S. will be undertaken
solely by the Earth Engineering Center. The objective of this research study was to conduct a national survey of MSW generation and disposition, by compiling and analyzing waste management data provided by the waste management agencies of the fifty states of the Union.
Furthermore, the study examined the national trend of waste generation and management since the beginning of this century and explored options for improved data collection and waste management at the state and national levels.