10.2190/RMWC-8VDF-0DJ7-2A67 RMWC8VDF0DJ72A67 1 The External Costs of Sanitary Landfills 301 308 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 RMWC8VDF0DJ72A67.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=RMWC8VDF0DJ72A67 4 Eui-Gak Hwang Gundars Rudzitis Department of Economics, University of Chicago Department of Geography, University of Texas at Austin The problem of disposing of solid waste is an issue of increasing concern. The primary method of disposal is at landfill sites. This paper estimates the external costs of solid waste disposal in sanitary landfills in the Chicago Metropolitan Areas. The results of the study indicate that negative externalities do exist. However, they are small, almost insignificant. Given the negligible size of the externalities there appears to be little rationale for discouraging the disposal of solid wastes in sanitary landfills. National Association of Counties Research Foundation, <i>Guidelines for Local Governments on Solid Waste Management</i>, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C., 1971. J. R. Black, <i>et al.</i>, <i>The National Solid Waste Survey—An Interim Report</i>, U. S. Public Health Survey, Washington, D. C., 1969. Editor, Per Capita Figure of 5.1 Pounds of Matter Daily Indicated by National Survey, <i>Solid Waste Management/Refuse Removal Journal</i>, March, 1968. J. R. Schaeffer and G. S. Tolley, <i>Decision Making and Solid Waste Disposal</i>, Center for Urban Studies, University of Chicago, April, 1971. Argonne National Laboratory, Energy and Environmental Systems Division, <i>Domestic, Industrial and Total Solid Waste Loads for the Chicago Metropolitan Area</i>, June, 1974. B. J. L. Berry and F. E. Horton, <i>Urban Environmental Management</i>, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1974. B. Baum and C. H. Parker, <i>Solid Waste Disposal</i>, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, 1971. T. D. Crocker, <i>Urban Air Pollution Damage Functions</i>, U. S. E. P. A., Office of Air Programs, Washington, D. C., June, 1971. R. G. Ridker and J. A. Henning, The Determinants of Residential Property Values with Special Reference to Air Pollution, <i>Review of Economics and Statistics</i>, May, 1967. D. M. Dornbush and S. M. Barrager, <i>Benefit of Water Pollution Control on Property Values</i>, U. S. E. P. A., Office of Research and Development, Washington, D. C., October, 1973. J. Havlicek, R. Richardson and L. Davies, <i>Measuring the Impacts of Solid Waste Disposal Site Location on Property Values</i>, Urban Economics Report No. 65, University of Chicago, November, 1971. <i>Olcott's Land Value Statistics</i>, Chicago, Illinois, various editions, 1945-1974. Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, <i>Solid Waste Report</i>, Chicago, 1972. U. S. Bureau of the Census, <i>1970 Census of Housing, Block Statistics, Chicago, Illinois-Northwestern Indiana Urbanized Area</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1973.