Recycling Reconsidered: The Present Failure and Future Promise of Environmental Action in the United States

Contents

Contents Acknowledgments ix Acronyms and Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1 Rags and Bottles 23 2 Curbside Recycling Collection 49 3 Tonnage and Toxicity: The Nonissue of Nonhazardous Industrial Waste 87 4 Scale and Sufficiency: Zero Waste and the Quest for Environmental Justice 125 5 Extended Plastics Responsibility: Producers as Reluctant Stewards 173 Conclusion 217 Appendix I: Summary of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Data on Solid-Waste Generation, Disposal, and Recycling in the United States 241 Appendix II: Summary of Textile and Glass Disposal and Recycling in the United States and New York City 243 Appendix III: Changes in Quantity and Composition of Municipal Solid Waste over Time 245 vi Contents Appendix IV: Fractions of Municipal Solid Waste Suitable for Reuse Using a Model of Repair, Refurbishment, and Retailing 249 Appendix V: Details on Various Quantities of Different Plastics in Municipal Solid Waste 253 Appendix VI: Fractions of Municipal Solid Waste Referred to in the Conclusion 257 Notes 259 References 263 Index 291 Series List 305 To Mark, who is everything to me. ...