Landfills
Don, landfills aren't designed for decomposition, they're made for
containment, compression, and rarely, methane gas generation. Sure, us
gardeners can compost newspaper in the topsoil and it will disappear in a
season, but you can excavate any landfill in the country and read
40-year-old newspapers that might be moist but otherwise readable. Not to
mention intact refrigerators, shoes, etc. that are still there without any
signs of decomposition.
I wish there'd be more cities that turn to private enterprises for garbage
disposal… with a profit incentive, more companies can explore
alternatives like separation, recycling and composting. On the order of 40
percent of trash is entirely compostable in the manner you describe, it
becomes a rich soil amendment with a market value. Not to mention
composting and re-selling shredded lawn waste, tree-trimming waste, etc.
Instead, we have uninformed, unwilling municipal governments who can't see
past the way things were done 40 years ago.