Meeting The Challenge of Solid Waste Disposal

.Many of the most serious and complex problems facing the United States today result from our phenomenal tech­ nological achievements and. accelerating pace of urbaniza­ tion. The capacity of this nation to produce and consume goods has swelled dramatically, particularly in the two decades since the end of World War II. Within the same period, urban growth has compacted more than half of the total population into less than one per cent of the land drea of the country. To say that we have been, and indeed still are, un­ prepared for the challenges produced by these growth factors is an understatement. We find ourselves today at what is almost literally the eleventh hour trying to find Md apply acceptable solutions for such problems of the environment as air and water pollution, decay of parts of our greatest cities, and vast overtaxing of our transportation facilities. No one can seriously doubt the urgency of solving such problems; the health and w elfare of this nation is largely 'dependent on our ability to develop and apply new and superior means of controlling and preventing the causes of environmental degeneration, not only for the present but for the future as well. k seeking the means of improving the quali ty of our environme nt, prime at­ tention will have to be given to solid waste management, for this problem is intimately associated with many of the fundamental causes of environmental deterioration.