Intent:
To collect up-to-date data to support development and evaluation of effective sustainable materials management programs.
Requirements:
Develop and adopt a policy to regularly collect data on the generation and characterization of all materials collected in the municipality.
The policy shall reference and require waste characterization and generation studies to follow the SWEEP Guidelines for Waste Characterization and Waste Generation Studies[1].
At a minimum, the policy must specify that a Major Waste Characterization and Generation Study be conducted every 5 years, with at least one Waste Characterization Update between major studies.
[1]The SWEEP waste characterization and generation guideline methodology is under development.
Waste characterizations are extremely expensive depending on the scope of the study. Many cities may not have the budget to conduct them. You also have to take into consideration that many municipalities have elected officials that look down upon spending money studying waste streams, and may not support funding them. Also, every 5 years is too often. We have done study’s almost 10 years apart and the characterization of waste hasn’t changed drastically. You may consider changing up this requirement to allow a broader pool of cities to satisfy this action item.
Thanks for the insights. It may make sense to wait longer for larger cities. If you have a comparison of WCS that shows small changes, that would be helpful.