Human beings are the only species that want more than their bare minimum needs. They are also the only species that tinker with natural systems to produce what they want and not always wisely. One consequence is the daily discard of solid wastes. Managing the inexorable solid waste discard stream is a ubiquitous problem. All societies struggle with this issue. The universal solution offered to resolve the problem is Recycling.

Emission of Green House Gases (GHG), dwindling non-renewable resources, loss of wetlands from filling, pollution of ground and surface waters by leachates from waste dumps, and spread of diseases through vermin are some of the major global environmental problems we have to tackle. In resolution of those local and global problems solid waste management issues are intricately inter woven. Wealthy societies pay attention to the consequences of improper management. Poorer societies postpone the action to correct problems until their income levels increase.

Today Global environmental quality cannot be improved only by controlling environmental releases in the wealthy countries. It requires as a minimum, action in two of the most populous nations in the World, China and India, because they collectively dispose more solid wastes each day than USA and Western Europe.

Collection, processing and disposal of solid wastes is a civic challenge and programs to minimize the impact of solid wastes disposal is truly a Global Environmental issue. Historically, urban solid wastes have been collected and transported to dumping areas outside the urban centers. Even now, this is practiced in USA and Canada; however, the solid waste is disposed in well-engineered modern landfills.

In the 1960s, the US Public Health service took steps to minimize the environmental and public health impact of solid wastes disposal. More federal and State environmental protection laws enacted in the 1970 - 1980 period resulted in enormous quantities of various residues.

The effort to efficiently collect, store, transfer, process and dispose solid wastes discarded in any society requires team work of all engineering and scientific disciplines. In addition, a flexible management system is essential for minimizing societal costs. Flexibility is also necessary because of the ever-changing composition of packaging materials used to sell consumer products.

Since wealthy societies do demand and consume a disproportionate amount of the Worlds natural resources, a good integrated solid waste management program can be considered as an ethical requirement. Wealthy societies must also strive for optimum use of materials (reuse & recycling) to reduce Global imbalances.

This lecture will illustrate the complexity of solid wastes management in the context of engineering and science applications. It will include discussion of recycling and reuse issues, economics of systems, energy recovery and ultimately the ubiquitous landfills that are the foundation of a stable management system.

Since USA and Canada are overly dependent on landfills for solid waste disposal, the long-term implications of landfill design and operations will also be presented. This lecture will also mention Research and Development needs in solid waste management and career development potential.

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