• Garbage must be disposed of after it leaves your dumpster.garbage image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
  
  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW), more commonly called garbage. The EPA works with individual communities to reduce, reuse and dispose of MSW in a way that minimizes the impact on the surrounding environment. Three disposal options are available for MSW: landfills, controlled burning and transfer stations. However, individuals can reduce MSW by recycling and composting.
  
  

Landfills

• Landfills differ from open dumps in that they are regulated.birds at a landfill site in Extremadura/Spain image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com
  
  Landfills are managed waste disposal sites that eliminate the undesirable effects of an open dump. A natural by-product of waste decomposition is leachate, a mixture of toxic and non-toxic substances and rainwater. Left untreated, leachate will find its way into groundwater and potentially the water supply. Landfills must be located in an area that naturally prohibits the release of leachate into the environment, like an area that has a large amount of predominantly clay soil, and they must be located a great distance from areas that are prone to flooding or are near water supplies. In areas where clay soil is not available, liners can be constructed using other readily available impermeable substances like plastic. Leachate that accumulates in landfills must be piped to water treatment facilities.
  
  In addition to leachate, waste decomposition produces methane, an explosive greenhouse gas that will contribute to climate change if released into the atmosphere. An ideal landfill monitors methane levels and uses the gas to generate electricity that powers on-site and community operations.
  
  

Controlled Burning

• Burning garbage in an uncontrolled environment causes air pollution.fire image by Fotocie from Fotolia.com
  
  Controlled burning, also referred to as combustion, reduces the volume of waste in an area. This type of waste disposal is well suited for urban areas where landfill space is not an option. When properly done, combustion has the benefit of being able to produce a reliable source of electrical energy. This process, called waste-to-energy (WTE), is generally used to pay for the operating costs of the combustion facility or sold to businesses. On the flip side, combustion is expensive and produces significant amount of air pollution that the facility must treat before releasing it into the environment.
  
  

Tranfer Stations

• Large trucks haul waste to nearby treatment facilities.garbage man image by Seiberspace from Fotolia.com
  
  Some locations produce a vast amount of waste that simply cannot be treated by landfills or controlled burning in the area where it was produced. This scenario requires the use of waste transfer stations---sites where waste is temporarily held until transport vehicles are fully loaded and can move the waste to a nearby landfill or combustion facility. Transfer stations must be strictly regulated and monitored to reduce negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods.