Engineers regard solid waste disposal as a more serious problem than either the public or the media . Specialists rate solid waste as America's number one environmental problem. But it ranks behind air and water pollution, hazardous waste and global warming in amount of media coverage, and the public's ratings mirror the media's environmental news agenda. Engineers and the public disagree about the sources of the problem . Engineers worry most about plastic and waste paper, while the public is more concerned about disposable diapers, foam packaging and aerosol containers.
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 .