The Refuse Challenge Material Handling Problems of Collection - The Future 720762

Within the past 15 years, the solid wastes management field has experienced an extensive technological advancement. This advancement has brought the field into parity with other segments of the materials handling and construction industries. During the coming decade the solid wastes industry will experience a continual technological refinement and maturity in areas of waste collection, transfer systems, resource recovery, and disposal. The rapidly expanding demands for service combined with the constraints for economical systems for waste management will accelerate the automation of selected processes formerly based upon labor-intensive procedures. This paper highlights the current state-of-the-art for waste management and identifies areas where technological improvements could lead to significant manpower and productivity achievements in the field.