Solid waste management once was commonly thought of as simply "pick up the waste and go dump it in a hole somewhere." Today, nothing could be farther from the truth. When done well solid waste management successfully blends the diverse interests of a large "stakeholder" community together with industrial interests. Solid waste landfills, like hazardous waste landfills, can now be well-engineered structures, designed not to be offensive in any way.They are also designed to not contaminate local drinking water aquifers. Cooperation between the local community and the waste handling industry is a must if society's wastes are to be handled properly, effectively, and economically. Unfortunately, this does not always happen and litigation erupts.

The various stakeholders normally involved with solid waste management include: local officials and decision-makers, industry business executives and entrepreneurs, private refuse collectors and disposal site operators, community, neighborhood, and environmental organizations, regulatory authorities, recycling service providers, secondary materials processors, and end-users. Unfortunately this large "stakeholder" community sometimes has disputes which require skilled technical professionals to help resolve. These disputes may come in a wide number of areas and activities involved in the development and operation of a landfill, including:

Siting and Design of Landfills

• Characterization and evaluation of alternative sites, operations scenarios, and permitting requirements
• Site development plans, operational specifications, and cost comparisons
• Refuse cell location, parameters, sequencing, and liner systems
• Leachate, gas, ground water, and other environmental control systems
• Closure and post-closure planning, monitoring, testing and construction supervision.
  

Siting and Design of Transfer Stations

• Site location standards, comparative evaluations, and final selection
• Facility layout, design, plans, and specifications
• Incorporation of material recovery functions
• Permitting documentation and processes
• Construction management support services
  

Siting and Design of Material Recovery Facilities

• Design for recyclables handling and processing functions including off-loading, conveyance, sorting, separation, upgrading, consolidation, and storage
  
• Equipment description, evaluation, and selection
  
• Capital and operating costs for various MRF configurations
  
• Multi-party arrangements for materials supply and quality control
  
• Assistance with site acquisition, analysis of vendor proposals, facility permitting, conceptual/final design engineering, construction administration, operations start-up, and performance monitoring

Recycling Program Development

• Recovery strategies and policies for residential and nonresidential sectors
  
• Consideration of institutional, organizational, and political factors
  
• Involvement and coordination with private sector service providers and facility operators
  
• Implementation costs and financing options
  
• Analysis of markets and initiatives for market expansion
  

Source Reduction Program Development

• Program and policy recommendations
  
• Materials exchange and reuse operations
  
• Product stewardship principles and practices
  
• Yard waste minimization techniques
  
• Methods for measuring results

Composting Program Development

• Assessment of feedstocks and collection alternatives
  
• Materials processing technology options
  
• Site selection and operational requirements
  
• End product marketing plans
• Integration with refuse and recycling services
  

Waste Characterization

• Determination of baseline data
  
• Assessment of refuse composition
  
• Estimates of recoverable material quantities
  
• Disposal and diversion projections
  
• Impacts on program and facility design
  

Economics and Financing

• Detailed cost projections
  
• Funding sources and mechanisms
  
• Personnel implications and allocations
  
• Impacts of public vs. private operation/ownership
  
• Rate analyses and structures
  

Communication, Outreach, and Education

• Overall strategies for successful facility siting, program implementation, and public participation
• Presentations for workshops, seminars, forums, training, orientations, events, and meetings
• Preparation of brochures, newsletters, fact sheets, and other promotion/information materials
• Graphic overviews of technical data, information, research, and project conclusions
• Conflict mediation and resolution, partnering, and consensus- and coalition-building

Implementation Assistance

• Formulation of ordinances and regulations
• Policy guidance and development
• Intergovernmental coordination and relations
• Facilitation of public sector/private sector negotiations
• Vendor procurement processes, documents, and reviews

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Definition of measurable goals and objectives
• Reporting forms and procedures
• Service, facility, and vendor performance reviews
• Analysis of quantitative and qualitative information
• Program improvement, modification, and contingency measures

Additional Waste Management Services

• Future landfill capacity and cost projections
• Focused geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations for facility siting
• Refuse collection route analysis and configuration
• Rate studies and franchise contract negotiations
• Disposal and diversion methods for tires, wood, food waste, construction/demolition materials, and other special wastes
• Preparedness planning for handling and recovery of disaster debris
• Design of household hazardous waste collection programs and drop-off/storage sites
• Site-specific waste audits and materials minimization/recycling programs for business and industry
• Supply/demand/price data and sourcing/procurement strategies for waste paper
• Comparative evaluation of public vs. private operation/ownership of programs, services, and facilities
• Client representation during regulatory and permitting processes.

When disputes do arise (related to solid management practices in the past) they often require a number of experienced technical experts to analyze the regulatory and technical components of a dispute and to find the appropriate resolution. Such ELA disciplines as: hydrogeology, environmental geology, chemistry, toxicology, health and safety, microbiology, as well as civil and metallurgical engineering are often called into action in such disputes. Any of the above activities can be involved in litigation. Inappropriate or misrepresented data or methods are, in many instances, the basis of litigation involving activities conducted within competing disciplines, practiced in some cases by unqualified individuals not having appropriate training and experience and the associated professional certifications and/or state licenses that are required by various States.

Substantial information is available from the numerous federal agencies involved in solid waste management activities. For further information on the discipline, the Institute of Environmental Technology sponsors an Internet Resources Portal, click (here).

The ELA Principal responsible for the above activities is:

Victor R, Johnson, Jr., P.E.
 

Note: The environmental field is multi-disciplinary by nature and, for maximum effectiveness, ELA incorporates input from complimentary disciplines, when appropriate, in most projects undertaken.

Last Update: October 9, 1999