Author: Jiwan Das GuptaPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Glass waste
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Over 4.5 billion tons of non-hazardous wastes are generated in the United States each year. Out of these wastes over 200 million tons of post consumer waste is generated. The disposal of post consumer waste is the responsibility of municipality and society. Four waste materials, glass, plastic, rubber tires and paper and paperboard, were selected for detailed study. A questionnaire survey was conducted for obtaining input from all state departments of transportation (DOTs) and recyclers and solid waste management facilities in the state of Ohio. Responses received from state DOTs stated that they use various recycled materials in highway construction but do not conduct cost-effectiveness analysis of recycled waste materials. The cost of disposal of post consumer waste is increasing, which requires an alternate use for these waste materials. One possible use of these post consumer waste materials is in highway construction. An economic analysis is needed for their cost-effectiveness determination before using these materials in highway construction. Though these recycled waste materials are expensive compared to virgin material, consideration of the savings in terms of societal cost makes these materials become cost-effective and attractive to use in highway construction. Concepts of marginal costs and marginal benefits are used in developing the cost-effective analysis of recycled materials. The recycled waste material will be competitive with the new material if costs such as disamenity costs of disposal and landfill costs are added to the material costs. Benefits from recycling are numerous, such as the revenue generated from recycling and sale of material, avoidance of disposal costs, and improvement in environmental quality. Revenue from sale of each material is treated as a reduction in costs. Combining all costs together provides a platform to develop a marginal benefit function for recycling. A computer program was developed using Microsoft Access (trademark) to provide a tool in making an economic decision.