EPA, however, has established national standards these landfills must meet in order to stay open. Municipal landfills can, however, accept household hazardous waste . The act's primary goal is to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal. In addition, RCRA calls for conservation of energy and natural resources, reduction in waste generated, and environmentally sound waste management practices. The capacity, however, has remained relatively constant.
New landfills are much larger than in the past.
Households often discard many common items such as paint, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides, that contain hazardous components. These products, if mishandled, can be dangerous to your health and the environment. EPA provides a glossary that defines in non-technical language commonly used environmental terms appearing in EPA publications and materials. Can be viewed on EPA's Web site or installed on any computer equipped with a mouse and Microsoft Windows. This series of documents has been organized to assist reporters covering municipal solid waste management issues.