The Northeast’s solid waste management capacity is limited, and several waste-to-energy facilities and landfills have closed or have planned near-term closures. Several areas, such as in Massachusetts and Connecticut, have begun to focus on regional solid waste management planning to address capacity issues. In addition to evaluating transportation-related emissions, fuel usage, and labor cost, these planning efforts are also looking at shared or cooperative opportunities involving local solid waste management disposal, organics management, waste reduction, and other regional self-sufficiency options.

In this presentation  Debra Darby provides examples of regional planning efforts and impacts, including a case study about Barnstable County, Massachusetts; several Connecticut Councils of Governments; and regional waste planning and sustainable materials management planning in other states, including Michigan. Climate action, waste diversion, zero waste, and contaminants of emerging concern have complicated the future of solid waste management and planning. Ambitious statutory programs regulating emissions, effluent and combustive fuels for energy, and transportation are narrowing available options for the disposal of solid waste. This overview will highlight future regulatory trends informing regional planning efforts.