But if we look back into history even further, we find that there have been some improvements.

Historically, man has dumped his wastes in the streets and when mixed with manure, they sometimes caused epidemics. Nor is recycling

new.

The difference was that 40 years ago when poverty was the rule of the day-handpicking the garbage dumps was a means to supplement family income rather than to achieve resource recovery and conservation.

The Resource Recovery Act was passed in 1970 and its main purpose was to substitute capital for labor, to develop the technology which would recover resources on an economically competitive basis.

In early 1971, there was only one near total system in the entire country which was ready to come on line: the Black Clawson System in Franklin, Ohio, utilizing a hydropulper to process solid waste. Black Clawson began operating in the summer of 1971.

Other systems were at the pilot test stage. The U.S. Bureau of Mines was developing a system to process incinerator residue to retrieve metals and glass from incinerator ash.

Senator RANDOLPH. At this point, I want to indicate that a representative of the Bureau of Mines will testify tomorrow with reference to some of these matters.

Dr. LESHER. Good. This particular system will be built full scale to be operating in Lowell, Mass., in 1975, with funding from the Resource Recovery Act of 1970. The Combustion Power Co. was in the early stages of development of a fluid bed unit to convert organic wastes into fuel gas. This system is now in the pilot stage.

Many companies were working with pyrolysis-incineration in the absence of oxygen-to convert organic waste into gas or oil. The Gar

rett Research and Development Corp. pilot plant will be scaled up to serve San Diego County and to produce oil from solid waste. And that should be operating by 1976, again with funding under a demonstration grant from EPA.

The Monsanto Co. has also advanced the state of the art of pyrolysis and their system is currently being constructed under an EPA grant to provide salable steam and other byproducts for downtown Baltimore.

In Nashville, just completed this summer is a facility to process 700 tons of refuse per day in order to recover some materials and to provide marketable steam for heating and cooling in the downtown section. This facility does not have Federal funding.

Senator RANDOLPH. How is the funding?
Dr. LESHER. This is local government funding.

Senator RANDOLPH. Thank you.

Dr. LESHER. In 1971, what has in our view turned out to be a most promising development, was in the procurement stage. This system came on line in St. Louis in 1972. The city of St. Louis shreds municipal solid waste in this facility.