March 20 -- The Solid Waste Association of North America has written to the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to outline the groupīs interests in efforts by Congress to control greenhouse gas emissions.
SWANA CEO and Executive Director John Skinner wrote to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., that the solid waste management industry already has undertaken steps to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that may contribute to climate change. He also outlined several characteristics that SWANA would like to see incorporated into any greenhouse gas program that Congress might develop.
Those recommendations for the program include:
- Recognizing the significant GHG reductions that have occurred as
a result of modern management of municipal solid waste
- Taking advantage of even greater GHG reductions that can occur
from more extensive energy recovery and recycling of municipal solid
waste
- Adopting a market-based approach for achieving GHG reductions
- Creating financial incentives for energy recovery, recycling and
use of municipal solid waste to develop alternative fuels
- Ensuring any cap-and-trade program involves multiple sectors, is
transparent, rules-based and verifiable, and includes GHG offsets
for energy recovery and recycling.
"We are hopeful that the committee will apply our recommendations to any national greenhouse gas control program that is developed and look to SWANA as a resource in the development process," Skinner said.
The solid waste industry -- mainly through capture and use of landfill gas, combustion and recovery in waste-to-energy plants, and recycling and composting -- have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 120 million to 190 million metric tons of carbon monoxide per year, even as MSW disposal volumes in the United States grew by more than 100 million tons per year over that time, according to SWANA.
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