Media coverage is too sparse to provide much guidance to the public. Engineers and the public disagree about the solution . Solid waste specialists endorse incineration and, to a lesser extent, landfills. The public opposes both, and media coverage reflects their unease. The specialists regard public opposition as a greater obstacle than technical or economic limitations of these approaches.
Engineers are highly critical of the media .
The media is more attuned to the political, rather than the technical issues related to solid waste . The study finds that the perspectives of the technical community are not communicated well to the broader public. The specialists frequently occupy one end of the opinion spectrum on solid waste issues, with the public and the media at the other end, and ASME's general membership in between. This suggests that engineers as well as laymen may be influenced by media images of issues outside their area of specialization. The national media coverage was generally balanced on this controversial issue.