MODELING AND FORECASTING MUNICIPAL SOLID-WASTE GENERATION IN THE US ENERGY SUPPLY

This paper describes an economic and statistical approach to modeling and forecasting municipal solid waste generation in the US energy supp ly. It begins with a discussion of the historical developments in the waste to energy industry over the last 25 years. Then a model is devel oped to provide energy policy makers with an analytical framework for understanding the relationships between the solid waste industry and t he waste to energy industry. The model is tested empirically using dat a at the national level. The model's forecasts are compared with proje ctions made by the US Environmental Protection Agency