01-03-1985 Council Packet Special Meeting

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PART 3: REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT PURPOSE The purpose of the regional strategy is to describe the region's future waste management system. It defines what approaches the system will use to deal effectively with solid waste, including the role of waste reduction, source separation, processing to recover energy and materials, and land disposal. Waste reduction involves methods to cut back the amount of waste generated in the first place. Source separation involves sorting waste where it is gener- ated so reusable materials can be marketed or processed more readily. Process- ing for energy or materials recovery consists of methods that transform mate- rials into a usable, marketable product or burn them for heat energy. Land disposal is the practice of depositing waste in landfills. These approaches will play different roles in the regional strategy, but all will be necessary to a greater or lesser degree to manage the region's solid waste properly, effectively and comprehensively. The regional strategy is based on a number of important considerations. First, it is based on a goal of minimizing environmental health hazards, conserving natural resources and energy, and minimizing total costs. The regional strategy is also intended to reduce the region's reliance on land disposal by maximizing the recovery of energy and materials from solid waste and reducing wastes at the source as much as possible. Thus, under the regional strategy, land disposal is considered a waste management practice of last resort. The region's waste management system should reflect all the known costs of proper waste management and not pass on costs to future generations. The exist- ing system, however, which is based almost entirely on land disposal does not incorporate potential future costs of controlling environmental problems. Nor does it reflect the benefits from recycling reusable materials or the avoided costs of taking less waste to landfills. In short, the land disposal system operates at artificially low costs, giving it an unfair advantage over most waste reduction and resource recovery programs. Consequently, the fact that alternative approaches such as waste reduction and resource recovery now cost more than land disposal should not by itself exclude these alternatives from the regional strategy. Economics is one factor to consider, along with others, in selecting waste management approaches. Another important consideration is that the waste management system should pro- vide recovery and disposal capacity to meet short- and long-term needs. It should be consistent with public health and environmental protection stan- dards. And it :should provide for equitable and efficient allocation of costs to those who generate waste, as well as conservation of materials and energy whenever possible. ALTERNATIVES AND PRIORITIES OVERVIEW Waste reduction and source separation are often referred to as low -technology approaches because they usually require only a small capital investment, have the fleyibility to respond to change and involve the participation of those who generate waste. 10