Pennsylvania Moratorium Triggering Waste Crisis

Date: March 21, 2002

Source: News Room

Pennsylvania is facing a fast-approaching crisis in waste-disposal capacity because of a de facto state-imposed moratorium on permits for landfill expansions, according to the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association. Pennsylvania has less than 6.3 years of available capacity statewide for disposal of municipal solid waste and less than two years of adequate capacity in the eastern half of the Commonwealth, the PWIA said. The PWIA's analysis is based on permitted volume and disposal volume statistics published by the state Department of Environment Protection. This information indicates that by the end of next year, if the situation remains unchanged, the southeastern, northeastern, and south-central regions of Pennsylvania will face a capacity deficit of more than 12,000 tons per day and that by the end of 2006 the north central region of the Commonwealth also will run out of capacity.

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