Determining the Optimal Landfill Size: Is Bigger Always Better?

A model of landfill costs is developed that accounts for construction, operating, externality and political costs. Simulations based on the model suggest a few provisos to the conventional wisdom that disposing of larger volumes of waste in regional landfills is desirable on cost minimization grounds. In particular, the cost advantages stemming from increasing the size of the waste stream may be reversed by transport costs, increased political costs of siting regional facilities, or difficulties for potential host communities to recover political and externality costs from regional partners.