Bringing in the trash

Who’s number one?

By SANDY LONG

PENNSYLVANIA — Despite four years of decreases in the total amount of waste disposed of in Pennsylvania landfills, the state remains the nation’s largest waste importer, generating 14.9 million tons of trash and importing 9.65 million tons last year for a total of 24.55 million tons of trash, according to the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Trash travels to Pennsylvania from as far away as Puerto Rico. Pennsylvania receives municipal solid waste (MSW) from 18 other states, with leading importers being New Jersey at 5.7 million tons and New York at 3.5 million tons.

According to the DEP, “Pennsylvania has 49 landfills and five waste recovery facilities that accept municipal waste from residences and commercial facilities and residual waste from factories, manufacturers, farms and mining operations.”

Leading by a long shot

In the most recent Interstate Shipment of Municipal Solid Waste: 2004 Update, prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress, it was reported, “Pennsylvania’s waste imports represented 23 percent of the national total.” The nation’s second-largest importer, Virginia, received 40 percent less than the amount received by Pennsylvania, giving the Keystone state a considerable lead.

Just how did Pennsylvania become the recipient of nearly a quarter of the trash moving across state lines? DEP’s press secretary Kurt Knaus said that waste management is driven by market forces, and that a combination of history, geography, law, economics and commerce factor into Pennsylvania’s trashy reputation.

“There are more and more people, especially on the eastern seaboard, the most populated section of the United States,” Knaus said. “And Pennsylvania sits right in the middle of it all.”

Knaus said the state toughened its landfill regulations in 1988 and added another hurdle in 2000 with its harms/benefits analysis, an initial screening mechanism for landfill-permit reviews. Still, the state receives a disproportionate amount of interstate waste.

One point that doesn’t explain Pennsylvania’s position at the top of the trash pile is the Interstate Commerce Clause (ICC). All states are bound by restrictions imposed by the ICC, a clause of the U.S. Constitution that reserves to the federal government the right to regulate the conduct of business across state lines. Under this clause, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states may not inequitably restrict the disposal of out-of-state wastes in their jurisdiction.

But ActionPA.org, a PA-based research, organizing and networking center, said that states could still reduce waste importing despite claims that the ICC prevents this.

The organization urges state legislators to reduce waste importing by rescinding the excess permitted yearly volume at PA landfills and incinerators, and rolling it back to equal the actual amount of waste currently being dumped.

The DEP has issued permits for Pennsylvania’s waste facilities to take in three times the amount of waste generated within the state, according to ActionPA.org, which further advocates that this level be reduced by 10 percent annually until it matches the amount of waste generated within the state. Pennsylvania receives almost twice as much waste as is generated in-state. Visit www.actionpa.org/waste/ for more information.

As for why the DEP has approved such levels, Knaus said, “Our authority only relates to whether the facility has the means and the engineering to handle the capacity.”

Revamping a trashy reputation

Despite its long lead as the nation’s top trash importer, the picture is improving for Pennsylvania. As reported in Waste Age magazine, “Although the state received 9.1 million tons last year, mostly from New York and New Jersey, imports have declined the past two years by 1.5 million tons. The decline can be explained by two factors, the first of which is Pennsylvania’s enactment of a new $5 per ton waste disposal fee, (this increases tipping price to $7.25 per ton) which may have forced haulers to look elsewhere for disposal. Also, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made a goal to ship all of the Big Apple’s waste by rail for disposal, and Pennsylvania has no rail-accessible landfills, according to CRS.”

Due in part to the increased fees, as well as the absence of rail service at Pennsylvania landfills, the state’s four-year decline in imported MSW totals is expected to continue.

Waste import highlights from the CRS Report for Congress

• Forty-nine percent of total municipal waste imports are disposed in just three states: Pennsylvania, Virginia and Michigan.

• New York remains the largest exporter of waste, with New Jersey in second place. These two states account for 37 percent of all municipal solid waste crossing state lines for disposal.

• Twenty-eight states had increased imports of municipal waste since 2001, with the largest increases occurring in Virginia and Michigan. Other states reporting major increases in imports were Ohio, Georgia and South Carolina.