Page 258 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

236 DATA COLLECTION

that collected the data, the location of the organization, the types of data collected, and
the relevancy of the data to this research. The table provides an overview of each
organization and summaries of the data provided by them.
As shown in Table 14.3, U.S. governmental environmental research has provided
significant data for this research. The following paragraphs provide a discussion of
each data source mentioned in the table, including an overview of the agency, elabo-
ration of the data collected, benefits and drawbacks of the data source, and potential
sources of error.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board, referred to as CIWMB
(www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WasteChar/), has conducted significant research in characteriz-
ing solid waste for individual companies based on SIC codes, in California. The
CIWMB has developed a solid waste characterization database that contains waste
stream data for different types of businesses. The database combines three types of
information, general business data, waste compositions, and waste disposal rates. All
the information is based on the 38 business SIC code groupings. Most of the data was
collected as part of a 1999 California Statewide Waste Characterization Study. Overall
1200 businesses in California were studied covering all SIC code groupings.
The Indiana Institute on Recycling (www.indstate.edu/recycle/), a state agency, was
created in 1989 by the General Assembly of Indiana and is located at Indiana State
University. The institute developed concepts, methods, and procedures for assisting
Indiana residents and businesses in reducing and recycling solid waste. One aspect of
this involved site visits to companies in Indiana to aid them directly in reducing their
solid waste stream and increasing recycling. The institute has placed 80 case studies
documenting this work on their web site (www.indstate.edu/recycle/caselist.html).
Many of these case studies included waste generating and recycling details for each
company are described in each case study. Benefits of this data source are the ease of
collection and a relatively high amount of data (80 case studies). The case studies also
provided contact information, which could be used for clarification or additional infor-
mation. A drawback of this data source, and a potential source of error, is that it was
collected by another agency. Their full methodologies and accuracy level were not
completely described in the case studies. In all 80 businesses were studies by the insti-
tute, covering 23 SIC code groupings.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has also conducted case study
research in a similar manner to the Indiana Institute of Recycling. The Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources has conducted 52 waste reduction case studies cov-
ering 18 SIC code groupings (www.dnr.state.wi.us).
Cornell University has developed a program named the Cornell Waste Management
Institute, referred to as CWMI (www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi). CWMI was established in
1987. CWMI addresses the environmental and social issues associated with waste
management by focusing its University resources. Through research, outreach, and
teaching activities, CWMI staff and affiliated researchers and educators work to
develop technical solutions to waste management problems and to address broader
issues of waste generation and composition, waste reduction, risk management, envi-
ronmental equity, and public decision-making.