Number: 1975-11
WHEREAS, the nation’s total generation of solid wastes– agricultural, mining, and municipal–approaches five billion tons annually and is growing; and
WHEREAS, municipal wastes alone comprise several million tons annually, and convenience packaging constitutes the fastest growing portion of those wastes; and
WHEREAS, nearly half of the Nation’s cities are expected to run out of land space for waste disposal in less than five years; and
WHEREAS, the United States is facing serious energy and virgin material shortages which are likely to continue in the future; and
WHEREAS, source reduction measures such as returnable beverage containers can reduce the generation of waste and the consumption of energy; and
WHEREAS, resources recovery processes can extract energy and usable materials from solid wastes, and the use of recovered materials in manufacturing is less energy-intensive than use of virgin materials; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual convention assembled March 14-16, 1975, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, proposes that the Nation adopt a comprehensive solid waste management policy which maximizes source reduction measures, resource recovery practices, and the disposal of unavoidable solid waste under environmentally sound and regulated conditions when other alternatives either have been exhausted or are not immediately feasible; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such a policy should include the public regulation of solid waste disposal, and encourage solid waste management on planned and coordinated regional and statewide bases under Federal review.