Municipal solid waste, MSW, is a term used to refer to a wide variety of waste sources. Generally, solid waste refers to all materials or substances discarded or rejected as being spent, useless or in excess to the owners at the time of such discard or rejection. Waste includes but is not limited to: garbage; refuse; industrial and commercial waste; sludge from air or water control facilities; rubbish; ashes; contained gaseous material; incinerator residue; demolition and construction debris; discarded automobiles and offal. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, chooses to define this term slightly differently depending on the context in which it is being used. In the MSW Settlement Proposal, MSW is defined as "solid waste that is generated primarily by households, but that may include some contribution of wastes from commercial, institutional and industrial sources as well." Solid waste is generally anything discarded with several specific exceptions. Most solid waste, when it goes to a landfill, goes to a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, MSWLF.

A municipal solid waste landfill is defined by law as a discrete area of land or an excavation that receives household wast

In 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that municipal landfills, those owned by municipalities or which accepted municipal waste, constituted 20 percent of the sites on the National Priorities List, and that municipalities were otherwise "involved" as generators, transporters or arrangers of 25 percent of the National Priorities List sites. The sites on the list represent national localities that pose a hazard to the environment. Another study showed that of the 163 MSW landfills studied 90 percent had groundwater contamination and 45 percent had surface water contamination. These figures demonstrated the need for stricter federal regulation and enforcement of municipal solid waste landfills.

This legislation it its entirety was developed to ensure the proper operation and design of municipal solid waste landfills, in order to protect the environment and public health. The priorities of these regulations are to reduce the amount of solid waste generated and to possibly reuse material for the purpose for which it was originally intended or to recycle material that cannot be reused. The focus of the legislation was to provide a set of stringent regulations to control the disposal of solid waste that is being removed by means of land burial. Each Subpart and subsection explored an array of environmental and design criteria that affect the operation of MSWLF facilities. Hopefully, this legislation will minimize ground water contamination and other environmental problems associated with landfills.

The next section, Subpart C, examines the regulations for operating safety involving persons and the environment. Included areas are explosive gases, hazardous gases, diseases, and cover materials. The disease vector control subsection primarily deals with the control of "on-site populations of disease vectors" in a manner than protects both humans and the environment. Disease vectors include rats, flies, insects and other hosts with the potential to transmit diseases. Another subsection, involves the control of explosive gases to maintain MSWLF facility safety. The regulations concerning this area are very specific and detailed. For example, methane gas is not permitted to "exceed 25 percent of the lower explosive limit for methane in facility structures." In addition cover materials and requirements are examined in this subsection. The legislation dictates tha

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