| Abstract: | Hazardous waste is generated in the production of almost all consumer goods, especially those that contain plastic. The United States is the world leader in generating hazardous waste with 214 million tons produced in 1995. The majority of this waste was wastewater generated by the fifty largest generating facilities, disproportionately concentrated along the western Gulf Coast. The largest facilities also treat most of their waste on site, particularly wastewater. Most smaller generators send waste an average of 200 miles for treatment or disposal. Among both citizens and state governments there is resistance to local siting of waste facilties. Local resistance has convinced businesses or government agencies to look elsewhere to site a proposed facility. State efforts to directly control the flow of hazardous waste have not been successful due to court challenges from industry and subsequent decisions that state restrictions violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Taxes on both in‐state and out‐of‐state waste have proven effective at reducing in‐state waste disposal. |
