The comparison of alternative systems of disposing efficiently and effectively of four to five pounds of solid waste per person per day in the United States urban communities is undertaken by using Kazanowski's standardized cost -effectiveness methodology. The economic criteria for studying this problem are often limited to cost or marketable measures; in contrast, use of a cost -effectiveness approach allows the inclusion of non- quantifiable measures of effectiveness such as public acceptance, politics, health risks, environmental considerations, and soil benefits. Data from a case study in Tucson, Arizona, is used to illustrate the problem.

This study had two purposes: to determine solid waste management needs of residents and organizations of the San Xavier District Indian reservation near Tucson, Arizona; and to develop a solid waste management plan to be recommended to the San Xavier District Tribal Council. A solid waste generation study compared the daily per capita solid waste generated over one week by 25 Indian households, 15 Adult non-Indian households and 15 Family- Adult non-Indian households on the district. An analysis of variance showed that the differences in daily per capita solid waste generation among the three groups were not statistically significant at the .05 level, and a t-test showed that differences between the Indian residents and the non-Indian residents considered as one group were not statistically significant at the .05 level. The overall daily per capita solid waste generated by all groups, 1.71 lbs/day, was less than half of the national average of 3.5 lbs/day. The Adult non-Indian households had the highest daily per capita solid waste generation (1.96 lbs), while the Indian and the Family-Adult non-Indian households generated a similar amount of solid waste daily per person (1.67 and 1.64 lbs respectively). Four alternative solid waste management proposals were developed: (1) a tribal-operated solid waste management and disposal service serving all residents and most organizations on the San Xavier district and trucking solid wastes off the reservation; (2) the same as Alternative One except that disposal would be in an 8.24 acre landfill to be constructed by the tribe on the district; (3) contracting waste pickup and disposal to an outside waste management company; and (4) the same as Alternative One except that commercial organizations on the district would not be served. Evaluation of the four proposals showed that Alternative One best fulfilled the objectives of the san Xavier District Tribal Council, and that alternative was chosen for recommendation to the San Xavier District Tribal Council. It was also recommended that a recycling proposal by U.S. Recycling Industries be accepted. / Graduation date: 1991

No description available.

No description available.