This book presents the first comprehensive and unbiased
assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions
about waste-to-energy (WTE) projects in the United States.
Information about each WTE project initiated between 1982 to 1990
is combined with detailed socioeconomic data at the county level to
identify the social and economic differences between counties that
have completed WTE facilities and counties that have abandoned
their projects during the planning process. To examine the effects
of political objectives, public attitudes, and the decision process
itself, the book reports on four in-depth case studies--two
directed at communities that have accepted WTE and two that have
canceled WTE projects. The book also discusses the potential health
and environmental risks posed by WTE and alternative waste
practices, legislative initiatives and regulatory uncertainties,
and the potential for energy production from burning our municipal
waste.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration, commonly called
waste-to-energy (WTE), was adopted by many U.S. communities during
the 1980s and now is used to manage about 16% of all U.S. MSW. Many
experts forecasted that WTE would be used to manage as much as half
of all garbage by the turn of the century. Those forecasts and the
long-run viability of WTE are now challenged by massive
cancellations of WTE projects across the United States. Between
1986 and 1990, 207 WTE projects were abandoned, compared to only
140 operational facilities in 1990.
Why have these cancellations occurred, and what do they tell us
about the long-run viability of WTE? This book addresses these
questions and presents the first comprehensive and unbiased
assessment of the social and economic factors that drive decisions
about WTE in the United States. The book adopts a three-pronged
approach to investigate (1) the relationships between a community's
decision about WTE and the social and economic characteristics of
that community, (2) the impacts of recent changes in financial
markets on the viability of WTE, and (3) the decision-making
process by which communities decide about WTE. The first two
objectives are met by the collection and analysis of data on all
U.S. WTE projects from 1982 to 1990. The latter objective is met by
way of four in-depth case studies--two directed at communities that
have accepted WTE and two that have canceled WTE projects. The book
also discusses the potential health and environmental risks posed
by WTE and alternative waste practices, legislative initiatives and
regulatory uncertainties, and the potential for energy production
from burning our municipal waste.
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