In Defense of Garbage

Judd H. Alexander

ISBN 10: 0275936279 / ISBN 13: 9780275936273

Published by Praeger, 1993

About this Item

This "other side of the story" aims to show how waste products contribute positively to the economy, and to place garbage in perspective when considering the total use of America's resources. The author proposes that the problems lie more with politics than with ecological or social factors. Num Pages: 288 pages, black & white illustrations. BIC Classification: 1KBB; RNH. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 234 x 156 x 15. Weight in Grams: 537. . 1993. First Edition. hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780275936273

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Defense of Garbage
• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0275936279
• ISBN 13: 9780275936273
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This other side of the story is the first to show how waste products contribute positively to the economy, and to place garbage in perspective when considering the total use of America's resources. Alexander comes to this subject with 40 years of experience in making and recycling disposable products and in studying litter and municipal waste issues. He sees the garbage crisis as a political, not a physical, problem and introduces a non-cash national solution. He deals with popular misconceptions about the quantity and growth of garbage, resource consumption, forest productivity, packaging, disposal taxes, landfills, incineration and recycling. Written for open-minded lay readers, policymakers, professionals, and serious-minded students, this is an important contribution to the study of our current environmental situation.

Alexander proposes that the problem does not necessarily lie with the quantity of our resources, population growth, affluence, or with space or pollution, but rather with politics, fear, and misinformation. Alexander offers a survey of the history of garbage, considers the quantity and contents of the waste, and provides us with ways to save our nonrenewable resources. Especially compelling is the discussion of the characteristics and products of our throwaway society. Also covered is the role of packaging, measures for source reduction, the promise and problems of recycling different types of material, biodegradation, compost and litter, and the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste. In Defense of Garbage is about the politics of garbage. Reading this eye-opening book is a sure way to become part of the solution to one of the most hotly-debated problems in the world today.

About the Author

JUDD H. ALEXANDER is a retired former Executive Vice President of American Can Company and of the James River Corporation, and former Chairman of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. He has served as Adjunct Professor in the graduate school of Forestry and Environmental Science at the State University of New York.