Disasters generate 15 years worth of solid waste in just days
- John Cornelison
- April 14, 2011
Table of Contents
Disasters can typically generate up to fifteen years worth of a community's solid waste over a few days, with the potential to overwhelm day-to-day solid waste operations and to lead to years of disruption; FEMA estimates that debris removal accounted for 27 percent of their total disaster response costs for those U.S. disasters between 2002 and 2007; prolonged problems with the management of solid waste can lead to public and environmental health issues; slow management of solid waste can also impede economic recovery by inhibiting rebuilding activities.
-- www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/waste-management-critical-natural-disaster-recovery
Read more in Charlotte Brown, “Disaster waste management: A review article,” Waste Management (21 February 2011) (doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2011.01.027 |)
