News Release 002

NEW DEPARTMENT STUDY SHOWS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WASTED IN LANDFILLS

Volume 36-002

Contact: Renee Bungart

(For immediate release)

573-751-4465

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, JAN. 3, 2008 -- A solid waste composition study recently completed for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources found a significant percentage of the municipal solid waste deposited in Missouri's landfills has the potential to be recycled.

The Midwest Assistance Program Inc. conducted the 2006-2007 Missouri Municipal Solid Waste Composition Study for the department's Solid Waste Management Program.  The department will use the information gathered from this study  to help plan waste reduction programs, measure the effectiveness of current waste reduction programs and target recoverable materials that have the potential to be recycled. 

The Midwest Assistance Program conducted the study between September 2006 and June 2007 by sorting municipal solid waste at 15 solid waste disposal facilities.  The waste stream was generated by homes, schools, small businesses and other commercial activities.  The study found nearly 45 percent of the municipal solid waste deposited in Missouri landfills could be recycled, including metals, paper, plastics and glass.  The study estimated more than 1.9 million tons of recyclable materials were disposed of in Missouri landfills each year.  If recycled, the potential economic value of the materials as commodities would have been approximately $208 million dollars.

Using recovered materials in manufacturing new products saves energy, money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  If recyclable materials in Missouri's municipal solid waste were recovered instead of disposed of, nearly 28 billion British thermal units of energy could have been saved, equivalent to the amount of energy used by 262,000 houses in a year.  This would amount to cost savings of more than $500 million, based on the average cost of propane for 2006 and 2007.

"It is important to focus efforts on recovery of these resources for both their environmental benefits and the economic value derived from recycling them," said Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers.  "The results of this study will assist Missouri's 20 Solid Waste Management Districts in designing and implementing programs to reduce, reuse and recycle targeted materials within the municipal solid waste sector." 

Districts were organized to promote regional cooperation between cities and counties in addressing solid waste issues and to provide funding to assist with implementing waste reduction, recycling and solid waste planning activities.

Today, an important aspect of recycling is its potential to help prevent global climate change.  By diverting waste from landfills, the amount of methane produced by landfill sites is reduced.  Methane is a harmful greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global climate change.  Also, recycling products rather than producing them from virgin materials produces less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases during the manufacturing process.  "If the more than 1.9 million tons of municipal solid waste materials were recycled and used in new products instead of using virgin materials, more than 1.1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions could have been avoided," Childers said.

The 2006-2007 Missouri Municipal Solid Waste Composition Study may be viewed at the department's Web site at /env/swmp/rrr/rrr.htm.

For more information on the study, contact the department's Solid Waste Management Program at 573-751-5401 or 800-361-4827.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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