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It's Time to Embrace the Concept
Earth, we have a problem! We use too much material and dispose of too much waste, a situation that is not sustainable. Unfortunately, materials conservation has garnered very little policy attention in the United States. Although waste management has been a more frequent subject of public policy debate, only recently has the vast quantity of plastic waste generated each year become a significant public concern, largely due to growing press coverage of ocean pollution and microplastics.
In 2017 every person in the United States used on average over 18 tons of materials (i.e., extracted or harvested materials including fuels), more than 42% higher than in the European Union. Ctr. for Sustainable Sys., Univ. of Mich., U.S. Material Use Factsheet (2021). The United States leads the world in materials consumption. And in 2018 the country generated more than 290 million tons of solid waste. Statista, U.S. Municipal Solid Waste Generation from 1960 to 2018 (Mar 30, 2022). The extraction, harvesting, and use of materials have contributed to several critical environmental problems including loss of habitat; air, water, and land pollution; and the release of greenhouse gases, among others. Disposal of these materials can also result in release of greenhouse gases; discharge of pollutants, including heavy metals through incineration; and emerging issues such as the much-publicized problem of waste plastics in oceans, illegal shipments of waste materials to countries in Asia and Africa, and the widespread distribution of microplastics. Managing this waste has become an increasing burden on local governments. The cost of waste management is significant.
Revenues from recycling have been volatile and have for several years been money losers. Daniel Luzar, Why Recycling Doesn't Make Money Anymore, Governing (June 24, 2015). For example, local governments in New York outside of New York City spent over S900 million on solid waste management in 2017. N.Y State Comptroller, Local Governments and the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Business (2018). Identifying recycling markets has become difficult, especially after China effectively banned imports of recyclable wastes with its 2018 National Sword policy that reduced importation of waste materials by 99%. Cheryl Katz, Piling Up: How China's Ban on Importing Waste Has Stalled Global Recycling, Yale Env't 360 (Mar. 2, 2019). In addition, many...