September 19, 1972
Page 31175
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Congressional Action Fund has prepared a detailed issues paper on environmental quality which, as a result of diligent research, presents in one place a factual discussion of many issues relating to the environment. This factual discussion is particularly interesting in light of recent revelations that air pollution is responsible for a much higher incidence of lung cancer in urban areas. It is relevant because of the current discussions surrounding the need for an effective well-funded program to control water pollution.
It is relevant because, as revealed in recent hearings of my Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, the administration is ignoring the direction of the Resource Recovery Act that Federal policies be shifted from emphasis on disposal and use of raw materials to emphasis on recovery and recycling of materials to preserve resources for future needs.
It is relevant because of continuing important discussions about the economics of environmental controls and the energy crisis.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a discussion paper on environmental quality be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the paper was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
AIR POLLUTION
According to the Council on Environmental Quality, air quality on a nationwide basis improved between 1969 and 1970 (most recent data). Three of the five pollution sources stayed the same or grew worse (sulphur oxides and hydrocarbons were constant, nitrogen dioxide increased) while two improved (carbon monoxide and particulates).
In a survey of 82 sites nationally, there was improvement in every category. However, the least improvement between 1969 and 1970 was recorded in cities with populations from 100,000 to 400,000 where most Americans live. Furthermore, improvements in severe air pollution proceeded at a much slower rate in all of the test areas between 1969 and 1970 than between 1968 and 1969. For example, the percent improvement in medium-sized cities (pop. 100,000 to 400,000) was 18.5% from 1969-70, while in preceding years percent improvement was more than double (38%).
The data used by CEQ in its annual report is itself a subject of controversy. Variations in the location of monitoring stations and in the size of the region being monitored are often considerable. A complete presentation of current air pollution data will be found in the fact sheet which follows this introduction.
Under present law, the states have primary responsibility for air pollution abatement, as defined in their air pollution control plans which are reviewed by the federal government. The first drafts of these plans were submitted this spring to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Federal standards, which have been set for the five pollutants mentioned above, are to be achieved by 1973 or by 1975 at the latest. To achieve the standards, the states must develop abatement strategies for both stationary sources and mobile sources.
A leading controversy during Congressional consideration of the Clean Air Act was the impact of the new federal standards on the automobile manufacturers. Thus, many environmentalists were pleased when the Environmental Protection Agency ruled earlier this year that the auto industry would not be entitled to the one-year extension provided in the law. The catch is that the issue may be taken up again after January 1, 1973, when, assuming President Nixon is reelected, there will be few political risks in reversing the EPA decision.
Another issue which is expected to cause political turmoil is the role of traffic restrictions to control air pollution in urban areas. EPA now insists that the states incorporate traffic reduction strategies in their air pollution plans and has hired consultants to prepare local officials for the outcry which is feared from motorists and the highway lobby.
Air pollution fact sheet
Composition of air pollution particles and gases
Carbon monoxide: 151.4 million tons (53.8% of total pollution) arising from incomplete combustion were emitted in 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Hydrocarbons: 37.4 million tons (13.3% of total pollution) were released into the air in 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Particulates: 35.2 million tons (12.5% of total pollution) including fly ash from coal and lead from gasoline were emitted into the atmosphere in 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Sulfur oxides: 33.4 million tons (11.9% of total pollution) coming largely from burning of coal and oil were emitted in 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Nitrogen oxides: 23.8 million tons (8.5% of total air pollution) were emitted in 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Carbon dioxide: This gas is not usually measured as an air pollutant since it has no adverse health effects. Nevertheless, excessive CO may result in destructive changes in the climate.
Sources of air pollution
Transportation almost exclusively contributes more motor vehicle pollution (144.4 million tons in 1969, 51.3% of the total) than all other sources combined; it produces 73.7 % of all carbon monoxide pollution, 52.9% of hydrocarbons, and 47.1% of nitrogen oxides (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Pollution from this source declined 1% from 1968 to 1969 (Stat. Abstract 1971).
There are 90 million motor vehicles in the U.S. and this number is expected to quadruple by the year 2000. (EHP, 1970).
Even if the strict new 1975 limits on auto emissions can be met by the auto industry, the expected increase in auto traffic will reverse the decline in pollution and begin increasing total auto emissions again by 1985 (CEQ 1970).
Fuel combustion in stationary sources such as home heating and power production produce only 15.8% of total pollution by weight (44.3 million tons), but 73.0% of sulfur oxides, 42.0% of nitrogen oxides, and 20.4% of particulates. About 50% of the sulfur oxides come from electric power production. (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Industrial processes such as chemical manufacturing produce 14.1% of total pollution by weight (39.6 million tons) but 40.9% of the particulates and 22.5% of the sulfur oxides. (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Solid waste disposal (incineration) results in 4.2% of total pollution (Stat. Abstract 1971); in 1965 75 % of all municipal incinerators were without pollution control devices.
Miscellaneous sources such as forest fires product 14.6% of total pollution. (Stat. Abstract 1971).
Scientific evidence of air pollution's impact on human health
In the 1948 smog attack in Donora, Pa., an industrial town in western Pennsylvania, half of the 14,000 residents and 20 died. (CEQ 1970).
In London, 4,000 persons died during a 4-day smog in 1952 arising from high rates of coal burning; only 2,400 would have normally died during this same time period. (CEQ 1970).
Studies show that exposure to 10 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide for 8 hours may dull mental performance. Such levels are commonly found in cities throughout the world, and in heavy traffic frequently rise to 70 to 100 ppm. (CEQ 1970).
Sulfur oxides pollution becomes a serious threat of respiratory disease when it exceeds .04 ppm annual mean concentration; in 1968 Chicago's rate was .12 and Philadelphia's .08. (CEQ 1970).
Emphysema has doubled every 5 years since World War II. (CEQ 1970).
The cost of air pollution
In Los Angeles, every year 10,000 persons are advised by their doctors to move out of the city because the smog may injure their health. (Ehrlich).
Damage to materials and vegetation is about $4.9 billion each year. (CEQ 1971).
Commercial laundry, cleaning, and drying of fabrics soiled by air pollution costs about $800 million annually. (CEQ 1970).
The annual toll of air pollution on health, vegetation, material and property values has been estimated by EPA at more than $16 billion annually – over $320 for each family of four in the U.S. (CEQ 1971).
In one recent year low visibility from air pollution was the expected cause of 20 plane crashes. (CEQ 1970).
Smog in the Los Angeles basin is harming the citrus groves south of the city and killing trees in the San Bernardino National Forest 50 miles away. (CEQ 1970).
The cost of air pollution in human mortality is about $6 billion annually. (CEQ 1971).
Air pollution increases
In 1969 air pollution increased 3.2% (to 281.2 million tons) by weight over 1968 (CEQ 1971).
Particulates, such as lead, asbestos, rubber particles, dust and ash increased 10% in one year (1969). (CEQ 1971).
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) reports that the rate of increase of carbon dioxide in the air has doubled, from a yearly increase of .7 ppm. in 1968 to a rate of 1.35 ppm each year in 1969 and 1970; increases in the atmosphere's carbon dioxide may trap the sun's heat and produce enough warming to melt the polar icecaps, raising sea level 400 feet (CEQ 1971).
A 1968 UNESCO conference concluded that man had only 20 more years before the planet started to become uninhabitable because of air pollution. (Ehrlich).
A 1971 EPA study shows that lead levels in the air have increased 2 to 64% over the past 7 years in Cincinnati. L.A., and Philadelphia; the Council on Environmental Quality states that "atmospheric levels of lead may be reaching the point at which widespread adverse health effects are likely." (CEQ 1971).
WATER POLLUTION
A brief history
Prior to the Water Quality Act of 1965, federal policy toward water pollution was fragmented and ineffective. Availability of water for recreation or for natural populations of fish and wildlife was permitted only in so far as it did not interfere with profitable economic benefit. According to experts with the Environmental Policy Division, Library of Congress: "This 'no policy' policy resulted in the degradation of the waters of the United States to a degree that it now may be impossible to reclaim them to an 'unpolluted' status in more than a few places."
Passage of the Water Quality Act of 1965 institutionalized the comprehensive federal policy for abatement of water pollution. The water quality standards program demanded that all waters would be examined in order to determine the beneficial uses to which they could reasonably be put. Specific uses were identified: public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, recreation, agriculture, and industrial water supply. Each segment of the Nation's interstate and boundary waters and their tributaries was zoned for one or more of these specific uses by a process of public hearings and State determinations.
This legislation proved ineffective in arresting or even slowing water pollution. As the statistics in the attached water pollution fact sheet demonstrate, water quality is still deteriorating. In 1971 29% of the U.S. stream and shoreline miles were polluted whereas 27% were polluted in 1970.
Bureaucratic inefficiency had much to do with the failure of the Water Quality Act (see Water Wasteland by David Zwick, et al) but reluctance on the part of the Nixon Administration to fully fund the programs was also instrumental. During his first year in office, President Nixon requested only $241 million for construction of sewage treatment plants, less than one-fourth the legal authorization. The House Appropriations Public Works Subcommittee raised the amount to $450 million and the full Committee recommended $600 million. The Senate voted the full $1 billion authorized under law and the conferees agreed on $800 million.
In 1970, the President announced a near innovation in the federal water pollution abatement effort. In a speech December 23, 1970, he announced regulations (which took effect July 1, 1971) to require that from 40,000 to 100,000 manufacturing plants apply for permits to continue discharging wastes, as prescribed in the Refuse Act of 1899. Non-compliance with the permit program would, Mr. Nixon promised, result in penalties for industrial leaders including fines up to $2500 and jail terms up to one year.
This program, too, was a failure. According to David Hudich, a consultant hired by the White House to evaluate this permit program, "the program has very little chance of success." Only 17,000 of the companies required to file pollution reports did so and no legal action was taken to enforce the new regulations, either against those who reported their pollution or against those who refused.
Amendments to the Water Pollution Control Act: 1971-72
Debate over water pollution abatement at the federal level currently focuses on the amendments to the Water Pollution Control Act, or the Muskie Water Bill. The bill, which passed the Senate 86 to 0 on November 2, 1971, is now in a Senate-House conference committee awaiting action.
The House-passed bill was considerably weaker than the original Senate-passed legislation, which included the following new policies:
1. The discharge of pollutants into navigable waters is to be eliminated by 1985:
2. Wherever attainable, an interim goal of water quality is to be met which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water by 1981;
3. The discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts is prohibited;
4. Federal financial assistance is to be provided to communities for the construction of waste treatment facilities;
5. Regional waste treatment management programs are to be developed and implemented to assure adequate control of all sources of water pollutants in each State; and,
6. Major research and demonstration efforts are to be initiated to develop the technology needed to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, waters of the contiguous zone. and the oceans.
These policies are to be implemented and the goals achieved by increasing Federal monies for construction and research, streamlining enforcement procedures, and broadening the areas of Federal jurisdiction. However, the states will retain their primary responsibility for water pollution abatement and the primary right of implementing the new National abatement goals.
Whereas under the original act water use (including pollution) was to be controlled and regulated, under the Water Bill, use of waters for pollution will not be tolerated after 1985.
Several important amendments were brought during debate in the Senate including a proposal for effluent charges by Senator William Proxmire (D-Wis.), a proposal to increase assistance to affected small businesses by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.), and a proposal to institute state-imposed user fees by Senator Howard Baker (R-Tenn.). The Proxmire amendment, defeated on a voice vote, would have called for a system of effluent charges to be levied on all discharges, other than municipal, which degrade the quality of receiving waters. The revenue realized from these charges would be applied toward assisting the water pollution control programs of states and interstate agencies.
The Nelson amendment, which passed unanimously, provides for loans to small businesses through the Small Business Administration to make additions or alterations in equipment, facilities or methods of operation which would be necessary to meet the requirements of the Water Pollution Act.
The Baker amendment, which was rejected 38-50, sought to make the State share of construction monies recoverable by user fees. Opponents of the amendment, including Senator Muskie, argued:
"If we make loans equally eligible for increased Federal support, why should not States with grant programs wipe out the grant programs, substitute loan programs, and get the increased Federal support? That would impose a penalty upon the municipalities, which would then have to put up that extra 10 percent, and relieve the States of an obligation which they had willingly assumed."
Water pollution fact sheet
1. 29% of the U.S. stream and shoreline miles are now (1971 data) polluted. This is an increase over 1970 water pollution, when 27% of the shoreline miles were polluted (CEQ 1972).
2. One-half the nation's drinking supply systems do not meet federal standards. Eight million Americans (5%) served by community water systems drink water with a bacteria content higher than U.S. Public Health Service limits. (CEQ 1972).
3. 40,000 cases of water-borne illness occur every year in the United States.
4. As of 1968, only 55% of the urban population was receiving adequate waste treatment services (i.e., primary and secondary treatment) .
5. 41 million fish were killed by water pollution in 1969 or seven times the number in 1960. (CEQ 1970).
6. Over one-fifth of the nation's shellfish beds have been closed because of pollution (CEQ 1971).
7. The annual commercial harvest of shrimp from coastal areas dropped from over 6.3 million pounds before 1936 to only 10,000 pounds in 1965 (CEQ 1971).
8. 90% of the oil spilled into the earth's waters is not spilled but comes from routine activities or oil tankers, refineries, and gasoline filling stations. (CEQ 1971).
9. Soil erosion is the largest single cause of water pollution, exceeding sewage by 500 to 1,000 times.
10. A 1970 Public Health Service report found that 30% of the nation's drinking water contains potentially hazardous amounts of chemicals.
11. Over 90% of U.S. watershed are more than moderately polluted. (CEQ 1971).
12. 34% of the nation's sewage goes untreated and over half of the existing water treatment plants are overloaded.
13. According to a survey taken by the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, between $33 and $37 billion must be spent from 1970 to 1976 in order to meet the minimum needs for water pollution control (an average of $5-$6 billion per annum).
14. For fiscal years 1972 through 1974, the administration has proposed spending only $12 billion: $6 billion from federal sources and $6 billion from the cities themselves.
15. During fiscal years 1970 and 1971, the administration only requested half the amounts authorized by Congress for water pollution ($1.2 billion as compared with the $2.2 billion authorized).
SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
Solid waste disposal, as a political issue, was thought to be completely lifeless three years ago.
But after the national publicity surrounding Earth Day (1970), it took on a popular, grassroots character due largely to the public's interest in recycling. The following pages, taken from one of the chapters withheld from the CEQ Annual Report and later released, describes in detail the progress of recycling since 1970. The table below summarizes the savings which would result if recycling were implemented on a large scale, and lists the major components of solid waste by material.
Paper
In 1970, the nation consumed 59 million tons of paper products in more than 100,000 end uses.
Waste paper accounted for 10.5 million tons or about 17.8 percent by weight, the remainder being derived almost exclusively from virgin timber sources. Wastes from paper production processes, called mill broke, are generated and reused within the same paper mill. In this study, mill broke is excluded from the recycled category because it never really becomes a waste, nor is there any potential for a change in these circumstances. Recycled paper fibers are primarily conversion wastes which are generated within the paper production or fabrication process but sold to other manufacturers rather than being used internally. The few post-consumer wastes that are recycled generally are recovered not from mixed wastes but from homogenous waste sources such as department and office buildings where they are pre-sorted prior to collection and reuse.
Both the consumption and production of paper have increased rapidly in the last two decades, but recycling as a percentage of total production has been decreasing (see Figure 3). The peak recycling rate was reached in 1944 when 35 percent of paper production came from waste paper. The ratio has declined steadily since then to its present level of about 19 percent.
In the last 15 years the number of products made of virgin fiber has increased about three times as fast as the number of products made of secondary fiber, in part because paper producers have decided to upgrade their products in appearance and purity by using more and more virgin materials. Table 2 summarizes the relative uses of wastepaper in the three basic grades of paper products: paper (writing bond, tissue. etc.), paperboard (cardboard and other packaging), and construction paper (wallboard, etc.).
[Table Omitted]
The predominant use of waste paper is for production of paperboard, accounting for 80 percent of such use. But in paperboard, market trends indicate a growing shift to virgin pulp use. Table 3 shows the change in market share of paperboard made from waste paper and paperboard made from wood pulp. As the table shows, virgin fiber use became dominant in the 1959 to 1970 period. The output of paperboard using waste barely increased while the output of virgin paperboard more than doubled.
Use of waste paper for paper production accounts for 13 percent and construction accounts for 7 percent of total waste paper use. Neither of these categories hold much potential for increased post-consumer waste use. Construction paper can use large quantities of waste, but it is a small and relatively stagnant market. Paper is a large volume item but only small quantities of waste can typically be used and much of it must be of a higher quality than that which can be derived from post-consumer sources.
These trends will continue as the industry continues to construct vertically integrated paper mills. i.e., located near and exclusively dependent on virgin timber. Because these plants are located in or near forests, transportation costs make waste paper from urban areas uncommercial to use.
Waste paper is used predominantly in older, nonintegrated paperboard mills whose economic viability has suffered in recent years and which, ironically, may be most heavily impacted by stringent water pollution regulations.
Hence, the prognosis for use of post-consumer paper wastes is not good. Higher quality and less contaminated wastes increasingly will get first preference by paper mills due to less contamination. Conversion wastes, which now account for 40 percent of total waste paper use, will be preferred increasingly over post-consumer wastes. This suggests that if trends continue or accelerate and if less waste is required, post-consumer waste paper will be most severely affected, and a demand for post-consumer wastes from mixed sources may never develop.
Ferrous metals recovery
The level of waste used in steel production is higher than in paper production. In 1969, the last year for which data is available, 28 million tons of scrap steel (excluding scrap generated in the mill) were consumed in the steel industry and 9 million tons were shipped abroad, for a total of 37 million tons, compared with total U.S. steel production in 1970 of 90 million tons. Of the 37 million tons used, industrial process wastes accounted for 13 million tons and post-consumer scrap, chiefly from automobile hulks and construction steel, for 24 million tons. Almost all post-consumer scrap goes to electric steel furnaces and exports as well as foundries while the basic oxygen furnaces and open hearth furnace rely largely on their own wastes and industrial scrap.
Historically, the steel industry has used a stable level of scrap – about 50 percent of total production. Recent changes in the technology of the industry will affect scrap use patterns. The Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) replaced the open hearth furnace, and electric furnaces have become more important.
As the BOF replaced the open hearth, the demand for ferrous scrap decreased because the BOF itself generates most of the scrap it uses while using less scrap in total at the same time. As scrap prices fell, electric furnaces, which use post-consumer scrap almost exclusively became economical. The prices of scrap have since returned to higher levels and the industry is back again in equilibrium. The steel production and scrap use patterns for three primary production processes are shown in Table 5.
[Table Omitted]
In total, however, the use of industrial scrap has increased in relation to other scrap sources. In fact, post-consumer scrap as a percentage of total scrap decreased from 29 percent in the 1948-53 period to 24 percent in the 1964-69 period.
Greatly expanding markets for post-consumer scrap probably will not occur in other sectors of the industry either. Although the foundry industry uses 11 million tons of industrial and post- consumer scrap, this segment of the industry is not expanding. There has also been a limited use of steel cans in copper precipitation at copper mines, but this is a very limited market as well.
As in the case of paper, the outlook for increased use of mixed post-consumer waste is not encouraging. The major markets are for high quality scrap that is near transportation and available in large quantities. These criteria favor industrial scrap first and then auto hulks, and demolition debris.
Steel scrap from mixed municipal wastes seldom has any of the above three desirable characteristics. Usually in low concentrations, it must be segregated from garbage, paper, nonferrous metals, plastics, and rubber. Post-consumer scrap usually is low in density and contains many impurities. These impurities can damage the steel furnace and adversely affect the quality of the product.
The future prognosis for all post-consumer steel scrap use is poor. The basic production trends are towards more steel making from furnaces which use less post-consumer steel scrap. If these trends continue, high quality industrial scrap will make up a larger and larger percentage of total scrap use.
Glass recovery
In 1970, the United States consumed 3.0 billion glass containers or about 11.2 million tons of glass. This contrasts with 22.3 billion units or about 6.5 million tons in 1960. The increased uses of the nonreturnable beverage container has been the principal cause of this substantial increase.
All segments of the grass manufacturing industry use waste glass known as "cullet" usually derived from internal plant operations. Only about 5 percent of raw materials consumption is waste which is now generated outside the manufacturing plant, and virtually all of this is industrial waste from breakage at bottling plants, not post-consumer wastes.
Although purchased cullet is a highly desirable raw material, it has declined because predictable supplies at prices competitive with raw materials – sand, limestone, and soda ash – have all but disappeared. The few surviving cullet dealers face rising costs and dwindling supplies. The glass industry recently has made a substantial effort to recover containers from post-consumer waste through consumer collection centers such as those operated by aluminum and steel producers.
This collection technique holds very little promise, however, to recover a major share of waste glass in the long term because it is unlikely that significant percentages of total solid waste can be collected at these centers.
Rubber recovery
Rubber consumption in 1969 was about 3.2 million tons per year, contrasted with 1.7 million tons in 1960. Tires accounted for about two-thirds of these amounts. During this period, reclaimed rubber production remained steady at about 304,000 tons annually. Hence, rubber reclamation has declined from about 19 percent of consumption in 1958 to about 9 percent of consumption in 1969. Natural and synthetic rubber have greatly reduced the importance of secondary sources of supply.
Plastics recovery
Plastics output has showed spectacular growth in the 1960's, from 3.1 million tons in 1960 to 9.3 million tons in 1970. Consumer products and packaging account for a large share of the increase.
Although there is extensive in-plant recovery of fabrication scrap among the new plastics such as polyethylene and polystyrene, once a product leaves the fabrication plant, there is literally no recovery.
As the plastic industry grew from infancy in the 1950's, there was speculation that a scrap trade would flourish. However, due to the numerous formulations of plastics, there are no generally acceptable methods to economically sort and reuse the waste. Only for a few high value plastics or those which do not need to meet quality control specifications, is recycling currently conducted.
Textiles recovery
The use of textiles increased from 3.9 million tons in 1960 to 5.7 million tons in 1968, during which time synthetic fibers virtually took over the market. About a quarter of a million tons of waste, 4.3 percent of consumption were recovered, usually for other applications, such as high quality paper, wiping rags and stuffings for furniture. etc.
Secondary uses of textiles have declined steadily as synthetic fibers have increased in proportion to wool and cotton. In general, domestic uses for cotton and wool are declining, and export markets have remained static in recent years. Small amounts of textiles are recovered for wool re-weaving, but re-weaving is declining as synthetics have gained consumer acceptance.
Non-ferrous metals recovery
Aluminum is the principal nonferrous metal found in mixed wastes. The other nonferrous metals – copper, brass, zinc, and lead – occur in minute quantities. Total aluminum shipments in 1969 were 5.4 million tons compared to 2.4 million tons in 1960. Shipments of aluminum containers and packaging increased from 160 thousand tons in 1960 to 600 thousand tons in 1969.
Scrap aluminum has remained about 19 to 23 percent of total aluminum consumption since the 1960's. However, the use of scrap from fabricating operations has increased from 15 percent to 19 percent, while the use of post-consumer scrap has declined from nearly 6 percent to less than 4 percent. Despite the success of consumer waste collection centers, they can recover only a small portion of the rapidly increasing post-consumer waste.
Like most other industries based on virgin raw material use, the aluminum industry is using an ever greater percentage of raw materials derived from ore and internal scrap and these trends are likely to continue.
Summary of trends
The preceding trend analyses indicate that current recycling from post-consumer wastes is limited, and in most cases declining compared to the use of virgin raw materials. Moreover, most of the post-consumer waste that is recovered is from homogeneous waste sources rather than from mixed or contaminated sources. Current trends for the major material components of mixed municipal waste do not indicate any likelihood of significantly increased demand for recovery of post-consumer wastes. In fact, trends in industrial processes and plant locations will probably decrease the economic desirability of post-consumer waste reuse. Unless these trends are reversed or modified, the demand for waste materials will be the limiting factor in recycling of municipal wastes.
Solid waste fact sheet
1. Over 25% (190 million tons) of all residential, commercial and institutional wastes go uncollected. (CEQ 1970).
2. The U.S. consumes 578 pounds of packaging material per person every year. (CEQ 1971)
3. Of the 4.3 billion tons of waste produced in 1969, 2.3 billion was from agriculture, 1.7 billion from mineral activities, .1 billion from industrial activities, and .3 billion (6%) from residential, commercial or institutional sources.
4. 94% of existing land disposal operations and 75% of incinerator facilities are substandard. (HEW and Bureau of Solid Waste Management estimates; CEQ 1970 at 106)
5. 70% of the U.S. 's 500 central incinerators are without adequate air and water pollution control devices.
6. 1.4 million automobiles are abandoned on the nation's roads every year. 50,000 cars are abandoned on the streets of New York City alone every year.
7. In 1969, there were an estimated 4.3 billion tons of solid wastes, 92% of which were from mining and agriculture.
8. The collection and disposal of the approximately 200 million tons of municipal wastes now handled annually was estimated to cost $4.4 billion in 1970. Half of that was paid directly by the municipalities, half by the private sector which passed on the costs to the city or the consumers.
9. If the current annual 4% (by weight) increase in municipal wastes continues as it has for many years, municipal wastes will increase to 810 million tons by 2000 – an increase of 225%. Note: municipal wastes increase by 4% while population grows by only 1 % /year.
10. Collection = 75% of total municipal solid waste management costs.
11. Currently, 90% of municipal solid wastes are disposed in landfills. Of that amount, 90% are disposed of in open dumps where environmental and health problems may occur.
12. Disposal typically costs about 50 cents/ton in these sites. Upgrading an open dump to a sanitary landfill can increase disposal costs to between $1.50 and $3 per ton.
13. 10% of municipal solid wastes are incinerated with the residues disposed of in a dump or landfill. A good incinerator will reduce solid waste volume by up to 90%.
14. Composition of Municipal Waste: (% by weight)
Paper, 36%; Yard Waste, 20%; Food Waste, 18.8%; Glass, 8.5%; Ferrous Metals, 7.6%; Other, -.
15. The total energy value of typical municipal waste, with excess moisture removed, is approximately 9.1 million Btu's/ton or about 40% of the heat value of an equivalent amount of coal.
16. With respect to recycling of tires, the number of retreads increased from 29.9 million tires in 1958 to 36.5 million in 1969 or about 2.1 % annual growth. However, because new tire consumption rose by 68% annually during the same period, tire retreading as a % of total new tire consumption decreased from 27.3 % in 1958 to 18.5 % in 1969.
17. Less than 20 % of the 60 million tons of paper and fiberboard we consume in this country is recycled, although industry has the technical know-how to recycle 40%. This inefficiency is particularly expensive since almost 50% of the cost of solid waste treatment in major urban areas is accounted for by paper. (William L. Ruckelshaus, EPA Administrator) .
18. The U.S. annually consumes about 190 million tons of major metals, paper, glass, rubber and textiles. Of this consumption, 143 million tons come from virgin resources; the remaining 48 million tons – about a quarter of the total – are obtained from resource recovery operations. (Ruckelshaus)
19. According to a National Survey of Community Solid Waste Practices published in 1968, only 6% of the Nation's land disposal sites met accepted minimum requirements for sanitary landfill. Some 14,000 communities relied on open dumps, a majority of which were, by design or by accident, open burning.
20. Under funding of the Resource Recovery Act of 1970 has hampered progress in solid waste disposal. Of the $409 million authorized by Congress over a 3 year period, the government expects to spend only $69 million. Some $220 million of the total was allocated to R & D for improved disposal facilities. But, only $15 million of this amount has been requested by EPA (for FY 72) and none has been budgeted for the current fiscal year.
ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY
What is causing our "energy crisis"? Why, all of a sudden, are we faced with shortages in fuel resources – such as natural gas and petroleum – and with brownouts in our major cities? Is it true that the American consumer is to blame, or are the industrial users causing our escalating demand for energy? Most of these questions have been answered in the energy chapter of the CEQ annual report (1972) which was withheld and later released. It is printed, in part, below:
"Dramatic increases in energy utilization have been experienced in recent years, largely because of even greater increases in industrial productivity. For example, the American mining industry employed 628,000 workers in 1969 as compared to 792,000 in 1955 – a decline of 21%. During the same period mineral production rose 42%. This represents a 78% increase in labor productivity in just 15 years, primarily as a result of new mining techniques which rely heavily on the extensive use of energy-intensive mining equipment. Similarly, the manufacturing production index rose from 75 in 1950 to 166 in 1968, while the number of man-hours worked only increased from 23,717 million to 28,287 million – a worker productivity increase of 85%. In agriculture as well, energy consuming machines such as tractors and combines have replaced the horse and scythe causing agricultural productivity to spiral.
This increasing industrial productivity through automation is likely to continue. Capital and energy intensive processes have replaced human labor, partly because energy has been inexpensive compared with wages.
Although industry is the largest consumer of energy, the average person sees energy consumption in the context of his daily living. Changing patterns of energy use in homes has had a direct effect on the growing importance of this sector. In the 1960's annual residential electricity consumption rose by 125% from 200 to 450 billion kilowatt hours.
Americans heat and cool their ever larger homes with vast amounts of energy, today accounting for a substantial percent of all energy consumption. Not only is residential use increasing, but its form is changing, as more residential users (as well as other sectors) switch to greater electricity consumption. New electric appliances are being continually added to our homes. Only a few years ago, the refrigerator was a luxury to be found in less than 50 percent of American homes. Today, virtually all homes have this necessity and the list of other energy dependent appliances includes washers, dryers, dishwashers, toasters, vacuum cleaners, and lawn mowers, as well as frost-free refrigerators and freezers. The trend is shown below.
[Table Omitted]
Continued growth in residential energy demand is virtually assured as the percentage of homes with these appliances continues to rise. Not only can we expect increased utilization of these appliances, perhaps exceeding one in every home for many of today's luxuries, but the size of these appliances is likely to increase and additional energy-intensive components may be added.
The 12 cu. ft. refrigerator of the past has now been replaced by 14 cu. ft. and larger frost-free refrigerator-freezers that may consume over 2.5 times more energy than a standard refrigerator.
Central air conditioning is superseding single window units. While there may be certain energy economies of scale, the cumulative effect is one of growing energy demands.
As in the case of industrial decisions to use more energy, residential consumer decisions to use more power are certainly influenced by the fact that increased convenience from electric or other energy intensive devices is not very costly.
These trends in the residential sector are, indeed, being exceeded in the commercial sector, where increased use of electricity for all types of appliances is growing without any near term limit in sight. Indoor heated garages, escalators and temperature controlled sports stadiums are all physical indicators of increased energy use in the commercial sector.
Our transportation system, too, has come to rely increasingly on energy. Twenty-five percent of all energy consumed in the Nation is used to transport people and materials. Of this total, 55 percent is consumed by automobiles, and an additional 21 percent is consumed by trucks, while aircraft and railroads consume 8 and 3 percent respectively. The remainder is used by barges, pipelines and miscellaneous equipment.
We are continually demanding greater speed and convenience in transportation systems. As indicated in the table below, energy consumption per passenger-mile traveled rises markedly with increasing speed.
[Table Omitted]
The increasing rates of energy use reflect the change to more convenient modes of transportation, but speed is clearly the cause of much greater energy use.
In the case of aircraft, the rate of increase in energy use per passenger-mile has been less than the increase in speed. This has been accomplished by enlarging the airplane and achieving economies of scale. A Boeing 747, for example, while 50 mph faster than a DC-8 utilizes only 2000 BTU's per seat-mile as contrasted with 4000 for the DC8. Nonetheless, we have generally been willing to increase the rate of energy use to reduce travel time.
In every area of transportation there is a growing demand for more energy, and this trend unless counter-efforts are undertaken is likely to continue at an increasing rate. There is now more than one automobile for every two people. The two car family is a way of life for many people, and three and four car families are increasingly common.
The overall trend toward increased per capita consumption of energy occurs in all major economic sectors. While the causes for increased energy demand tend to differ between sectors – and by use within each sector – it is apparent that there are strong forces within our economy that suggest it will continue. Increasing concentration of population in expanding urban areas, increased speed and convenience of travel for people and merchandise, as well as increased use of labor saving devices by all sectors leave little doubt as to future trends in energy use. In large part this growth is fostered by the convenience of electric power, which is likely to become the dominant form of energy use by the Twenty-first Century.
Both total energy use and the increasing dependence on electricity are largely due to electricity's low cost. Because increased convenience or efficiency through the use of more energy is not expensive, homeowners and industry are increasing their consumption. Even with greater energy efficiency and conservation, energy growth will almost certainly increase in the future. Hence, the task of policymakers is to plan for energy supply systems that cause least damage to the environment.
Environmental effects of energy consumption
The following fact sheet describes how the existing systems for extraction, transportation, and combustion of fuel resources intrudes on the total environment. As you will see, energy is perhaps the greatest single cause of environmental degradation in the U.S. today. Data is from CEQ annual report for 1972.
1. The nation now consumes seventy million billion (70 x 1015) BTU's of energy each year.
2. Energy consumption accounts for over 72% of the total air pollution by weight. Transportation emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel derivatives, diesel oil and gasoline, constitute the largest source of pollutants. Next largest are emissions from stationary sources used to heat residential, commercial, and industrial facilities.
3. For sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, energy consumption accounts for 76% and 89 % of total emissions respectively.
4. While industrial processes rather than energy production account for the major share of BOD (Biological oxygen demand) and other physical and chemical forms of water pollution, the major source of thermal discharges is from electric powerplants.
5. Of the 50 trillion gallons of cooling water used by all industry in the U.S. in 1969, almost 41 trillion gallons, or 81% was used by electric powerplants.
6. Fossil fuel transportation is responsible for over 1,000 oil spills in 1969 alone. Extraction of fuels and ores has polluted about 18,000 miles of streams and 145,000 acres of lakes according to the Department of Interior.
7. Extraction of minerals by surface mining has already affected over three million acres of land, about two-thirds of which needs treatment to restore it to a stable condition. Energy is responsible for 41 % of this total.
8. Another nine million acres of land have been undermined by deep coal mines, of which two million acres have subsided. By the year 2000, over 30 million acres may have been adversely affected by mining.
9. Electric utilities now operate 300,000 miles of overhead transmission lines, which use 4 million acres of right-of-way and are projected to require 4.5 million acres of additional land by the year 2000.
10. In 1970, electric power generation from nuclear plants produced about 100,000 gallons of high level radioactive wastes. One million cubic feet of low level radioactive wastes were buried in 1970 and this quantity will triple by 1980.
Economic impact of abatement
The most damaging popular misconception about environmental quality is that it is incompatible with economic prosperity. The following speech, presented by EPA Administrator William L. Ruckelshaus in March, 1972 gives a persuasive refutation of this myth.
At first glance, pollution control looks like a prohibitively expensive proposition. For example, the annual EPA report to Congress on the economics of clean air forecasts expenditures of around 42 billion in the period fiscal 1973-77 just to control air pollution alone. The Council on Environmental Quality estimated that the combined cost to industry and government of air and water clean-up plus better management of solid wastes would amount to around $105 billion between 1970-75. In other words, about one percent of the cumulative gross national product in those years.
As a check on these estimates, a task force of impartial consultants was commissioned by EPA and CEQ to estimate the long-term costs of a major environmental renovation. The panel analyzed eleven major industry groups and found that current pollution control requirements will compel the closing of 200 to 300 plants by the end of 1976. However, none of the eleven will be hurt severely as a whole.
Most of the 12,000 plants now operating will stay in business and be profitable, except for 800 that are expected to close down due to obsolescence or other reasons not connected with the environment. The task force estimates that the overwhelming majority of plants that will close to avoid installation of expensive pollution control equipment would fold up anyway in the period 1976-1980 because they are outmoded and unprofitable.
With regard to employment, 50,000 to 125,000 jobs may be wiped out, many of them in smaller communities where the economic impact will be substantial. However, that amounts to only one to four percent of the workers in the 11 industries – in other terms, about 0.05% (five hundredths of one percent) of the U.S. labor force in 1970.
EPA is now cooperating with the Labor Department to ensure that those who lose their jobs will be retrained or relocated if they wish. Federal development loans will be offered to the communities affected.
What about other industries? Will their experience be different? We think not. The task force reached similar conclusions in a broader study of 25 industries representing 80-90% of our national factory output. Existing and anticipated pollution controls would reduce the average annual GNP about 0.6% (sixth tenths of one percent) between 1972 and 1980. Unemployment overall would rise one tenth of one percent, which amounts to 80 to 100,000 jobs.
However, it is possible under optional conditions that the pollution control industry will provide more jobs than are lost in premature shut-downs.
Naturally the foregoing calculations are tentative. Not all industries will be affected in the same way. The magnitude of control expenses depends to a large degree upon the nature of production technique, abatement processes, volume of pollutants, feasibility of waste by-product recovery and the size and location of a given plant.
Some companies have discovered that there is great wealth in what we throw out, burn up and pour down the drain – possibly enough in certain cases to pay for a substantial part of control equipment. The very act of redesigning factory processes to incorporate clean technology opens up opportunities for higher productivity, expanded profits, rising real wages, better products and growing tax revenues.
Dow Chemical's experience offers encouraging evidence that well-managed companies can save money right now by controlling or recovering various effluents. At Midland, Michigan the company is building 28 cooling towers at a cost of $7.2 million to reduce the thermal load on the Tittabawassee River. The towers will more than pay for themselves by reducing corrosion and cutting daily water intake by 100 million gallons.
Indeed, anti-pollution efforts at Midland have saved chemicals worth more than $6 million over the past 3 years. At a Dow plant in Texas, $900,000 put into controls saves $265,000 worth of chemicals every year. Not every anti-pollution project results in net savings, but in a highly competitive industry, Dow's profit margin of 24.5 percent is well above the industry average of 18.7 percent.
It should be noted that companies which find the initial control expenditures too burdensome can often finance their equipment with tax-exempt industrial development revenue bonds.
Finally, in calculating outlays we must not overlook the social and personal savings that will accrue once our air and water are reasonably pure. Air contamination alone may cost this country $16 billion a year in damages to human health, materials, crops and urban vegetation and may rise to $25 billion per annum by 1977. These figures are only approximate. But the AMA estimates that disease induced by the environment as a whole costs $38 billion each year.
The overwhelming majority of the American people, as attested by the polls, believes that a cleaner environment is worth a little inconvenience and temporary expense. I'll admit this sentiment has not really been put to the test. We haven't held the ultimate consumer's feet to the fire long enough. But EPA is betting that the new public awareness is not for sale.
I think the average man and woman will look forward to a world free of smog, roadside litter, and putrid waterways, a world liberated from noise, ugliness, stench and urban decay. And that expectation ought to become outright enthusiasm when they realize that the cash savings alone may total $200 per year per family by 1980.
Considering the total evidence, therefore, I think all this talk about environmentalism ruining the economy is just nonsense. We are going to get back much more than we pay out. Far from retarding progress an ecological sensibility, carried to its logical conclusion, will guarantee the good life indefinitely.