Jeremy O’Brien, Director of Applied Research, SWANA

In 2011, the SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) Waste-to-Energy Group compared communities with waste-to-energy (WTE) systems to those that rely on remote regional landfills for disposal of their non-recycled wastes. This report was called The Economic Development Benefits of Waste-to-Energy Systems. Moreover, with the U.S. recession putting more and more focus on job creation, the ARF’s WTE Group conducted additional research specifically on WTE impacts on local jobs and community development. This companion piece to the original report has now been published as The Impact of WTE on Jobs Creation and Community Development.

This recorded webinar presents findings from that report, and explains how WTE job creation benefits can be documented and communicated to local elected officials, city and county managers, and chambers of commerce. The webinar outlines how WTE facilities can have significant impacts during both construction and over a 40- to 50-year operating period. These jobs include positions that are high-quality and high-paying, with the added benefit of being resistant to outsourcing. Beyond job creation, WTE systems encourage development in communities where they are located. Such community development benefits are featured for WTE facilities in Maine, Florida, Maryland, and Massachusetts.