New life for old garbage Resource and energy recovery from solid wastes

National interest has been growing recently in the potential for systems of resource recovery from municipal solid wastes, particularly from those systems associated with energy recovery. A regional model for resource and energy recovery from municipal solid wastes is discussed briefly in this paper. Particular attention is given to the definition of profits and to the question of whether resource recycling could be truly regional in scope or would be limited to a few urban areas. An empirical application of the model to a resource recovery system in the Tennessee Valley Authority region is summarized.