Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Timeline

	1898	Energy recovery from garbage incineration started in New York City.

	1970s	First-generation research was followed by construction of refuse-derived fuel systems and pyrolysis units in the late 1970s. U.S. Navy, Wheelabrator, and Ogden acquired the European mass burn technologies that would dominate the U.S. industry by the late 1980s.

	1976	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate residues from solid waste incinerators. Unclear wording made application of the law to MSW power plants uncertain, and the issue was taken to court.

	1978	Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) enacted PURPA mandated the purchase of electricity from qualifying facilities (QFs) at a utility’s avoided cost of energy and capacity. This legislation was used to require utilities to pay a higher price for power from MSW power plants than the plants had traditionally received. U.S. Supreme Court defined waste to be an article of interstate commerce that cannot be discriminated against unless there is some reason, apart from its origin, to treat it differently, or unless Congress specifies otherwise for particular articles of commerce.

	1986	The Tax Reform Act of 1986 eliminated the tax-free status of MSW power plants financed with industrial development bonds, reduced accelerated depreciation, and eliminated the 10-percent tax credit. The Act also reduced State caps on private tax-exempt bonds in 1988, further reducing funding sources and increasing the cost of capital.

	1987	Landfill tipping fees doubled, and doubled again about every 2 years due to rising landfill costs resulting from the RCRA. Siting issues became increasingly difficult.

	1989	EPA report on recycling, The Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action advocated recycling as a waste management tool.

	1990	The EPA recognized MSW power as a renewable fuel that would qualify for up to 30,000 sulfur dioxide emission allowances from a special pool of 300,000 designed to promote conservation and renewable energy. The EPA also required MSW power plants over 250 tons per day to employ best available control technology (BACT).

	1991	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Subtitle D: the EPA announced that small, unlined landfills would be required to close by December 31, 1993. This action spurred the infant recycling industry and increased tipping fees around the country. Most landfills requested and received extensions.

	1992	An EPA memorandum excluded ash from regulation as a hazardous waste under Subtitle C of the RCRA, as long as it was not characterized as toxic. 15 States had adopted recycling legislation. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that State-imposed waste import restrictions were illegal. "Economic protectionist" measures that violated the Commerce Clause and were, therefore, unconstitutional.

	1994	The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the exemption of MSW (from a hazardous waste definition) under the RCRA did not extend to ash. MSW ash must be tested and disposed of in hazardous waste landfills if found to exceed EPA regulations on hazardous wastes under RCRA. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld challenges to flow control. As a result, existing flow control contracts could be rendered invalid under specific situations (on a case-by-case basis). Several plants have shut down as a result. The California Supreme Court also ruled against flow control. The EPA strengthened air emission standards for MSW combustion plants by requiring maximum achievable control technologies (MACT). It also included plants as small as 40 tons per day under regulations. Flow Control is defined as: The laws, regulations, and economic incentives (or disincentives) used by waste managers to direct waste generated in a specific geographic area (e.g., their city) to a designated landfill, recycling, or waste-to-energy facility (e.g., in another State).

	1995	The Senate passed a flow control bill to grandfather in existing flow control contracts to prevent the major risk of MSW bond default in 14 States.

Garbage is a big part of municipal solid waste, but is also considered a biomass.