SWANA Resources for Exploring Residual Waste Processing Options

Communities across North America seek to follow the waste hierarchy by reducing, recycling, and finding the most beneficial end use for each material stream. Recycling and organics recycling systems are advancing (see SWANA’s recent comments on the US EPA Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics), but there will still be materials that are not accepted in current recycling systems.

This residual waste needs to be responsibly managed, with landfills being the most common option. Processing waste before landfill disposal provides several benefits, including additional recycling of materials, reductions in disposal tonnage, and stabilizing the waste so that it does not produce methane emissions when landfilled. There are two commercially-proven processes that can be used to do this – namely, thermal treatment in a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility or Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) in a biological process that involves composting and/or anaerobic digestion.

Most communities in the United States and Canada currently landfill their residual waste without treating it before disposal. As concerns grow about the climate change impacts of landfill methane and the costs and truck accidents associated with the long hauling of residual waste to remote landfills, interest is growing in the consideration of WTE and MBT technologies. There are about 570 MBT facilities and over 500 WTE operating in Europe. In comparison, the United States and Canada have about 80 operating WTE facilities and very few MBT facilities.

SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) has published several important reports to assist you and your community leaders with questions regarding handling residual waste. By accessing and utilizing these reports, you can keep your elected officials and community leaders up to date on the performance and costs of these options.

• “Advanced Air Pollution Control at WTE Facilities” can provide solid waste managers with up-to-date information on the reduced air pollution emissions that are being achieved at these facilities.
• “Thermal Treatment of Residual Waste: Lessons from Europe” and “Mechanical Biological Treatment of Residual Waste: Lessons from Europe” — will enable you to compare the advantages and disadvantages associated with MBT technologies.

These reports, in conjunction with other ARF reports, provide insights and information to educate your staff, elected officials, and community leaders about important options for your integrated solid waste management system.

SWANA Applied Research Foundation provides its reports to SWANA members at no charge. Each year, ARF Subscribers submit research project topics that are of greatest concern to the industry. Subscribers vote on the topics and provide review of draft research reports. SWANA ARF is currently taking new subscribers for each of the research groups. To become a subscriber, contact Jeremy O’Brien at jobrien@swana.org.