This article discusses how to dispose of such waste. Solid waste also comes from industries and farms. For information on these sources of waste, see the World Book article on Environmental pollution . 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.