Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 1.djvu/136

 106 STAT. 104 PUBLIC LAW 102-269—APR. 15, 1992 Public Law 102-269 102d Congress Joint Resolution Apr. 15, 1992 [S.J. Res. 246] To designate April 15, 1992 as "National Recycling Da}^". Whereas the United States generates over 180 million tons of municipal solid waste each year—almost double the amount produced in 1965, and amounting to about 4 pounds per person per day—and the amount is expected to increase to 216 million tons of garbage annually by the year 2000; Whereas the continued generation of enormous volumes of solid waste each year presents unacceptable threats to human health and the environment; Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency expects that 27 States will run out of landfill capacity for municipal solid waste within 5 years and that a large percentage of currently operating landfills will close by the year 2000 either because they are filled or because their design and operation do not meet Federal or State standards for protection of human health and the environment, requiring that waste now disposed of in these facilities will have to be disposed through other means; Whereas a significant amount of waste can be diverted from disposal by the utilization of source separation, mechanical separation and community-based recycling programs; Whereas recycling can save energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, has substantial materials conservation benefits and can prevent the pollution created from extracting resources from their natural environment; Whereas the revenues recovered by recycling programs offset the costs of solid waste management and some communities have established recycling programs which provide significant economic benefits to members of the community; Whereas the current level of municipal solid waste recycling in the United States is low, although some communities have set a much higher rate; Whereas to reach a goal of increased recycling, more materials need to be separated, collected, processed, marketed and manufactured into new products; Whereas a well-developed system exists for recycling scrap metals, aluminum cans, glass and metal containers, paper and paperboard, and is reducing the quantity of waste entering landfills or incinerators and saving manufacturers energy costs; Whereas recycling of plastics is in the early stages of development and considerable market potential exists to increase the recycling; Whereas yard and food waste is an important part of municipal solid waste and a large potential exists for mulching and composting the waste which would save both landfill space and nourish soil, but only small amounts of this material is currently being recycled; Whereas Federal, State and local governments should enact legislative measures that will increase the amount of solid waste that is recycled;

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