Tinited sates aces 1challenge in solidwaste manaeement; how and where to dispose ot the earbareAmmencans creale everyear. According to the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)Americans generate about 195 million tons of municipalsolid waste (MSW cach year. About onethird of MSWafter recycling,is packaping. Most waste (67 percentin 1990) goes into landfills, about 17 percent is recycled, and 16 percent is used to generate enerrythrough incineration.While the percentage of waste going to landfills isdeclining, a significant amount of waste continucs tobe sent to fewer landfills. Over the next few ycars,.many landfills are expected to close because they havcreached capacity or they pose environmental contamination problems.New EPA landfill regulations are ex.pected to accelerate this trend.

The growth in packaging is often cited as a majotculprit in the national waste disposal problem, As a result, industry faces increased public and lerislativepressures. Such responses may be politically expedi-ent, but do little to reduce solid waste. However, newand continuing industry efforts to incorporate environmental factors including ultimate disposal, into pack-aging designs are having real and positive impacts onboth the amount of solid waste and the methods utilized to manage it.