See also the Sewage article for information on the disposal of waste matter from sinks and toilets. Most cities and towns have waste-collecting departments or private firms that gather municipal solid waste from homes and other buildings. Workers haul the waste away in trucks. Disposing of municipal solid waste has become a serious problem because people produce more each year. At the same time, places to put the waste are filling up, and new locations are becoming more difficult to find.
Communities use three chief methods to process and dispose of municipal solid waste.
Recycling and waste reduction help lessen the amount of waste that is burned in incinerators or buried in landfills. Recycling is the process of reusing materials instead of throwing them away. Commonly recycled materials include metals, glass, and paper. Waste reduction is the process of producing less waste. For example, people can reduce waste by buying items that last longer or have less packaging.