Page 83 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

RELATED RESEARCH 61

2.10 Related Research

2.10.1 INTRODUCTION

Research has been conducted in the area of solid waste generation prediction and eval-
uation of individual companies. The research that has been conducted was done prima-
rily by the U.S. government and at the state or local level. Four major research studies
have been conducted from 1995 until 2006 regarding solid waste estimation or predic-
tion. This section discusses each study with emphasis on contributions and drawbacks.

2.10.2 1999 CALIFORNIA WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY

The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) (www.ciwmb.ca.gov/
WasteChar/) has conducted research in characterizing solid waste for individual com-
panies based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes in the State of
California. The CIWMB has developed a solid waste characterization database that
contains waste stream data for different types of businesses (Statewide Waste
Characterization Study Results and Final Report, 1999). The database segmented busi-
nesses into 38 different groups based on products or services provided. The study col-
lected and analyzed three types of information, basic business data (number of
employees, location, and daily disposal amounts), business waste compositions (the
types and amounts of materials typically disposed by an entire business grouping), and
waste disposal rates for each business type (how much waste was typically disposed
by each of the 38 business groupings, based on cubic yards disposed per employee per
year). The data was collected from 1207 businesses using a 1-day sample at each facil-
ity. The study only included materials disposed at landfills, not recycled materials.
Additionally, the CIBWM combined some business groups. This so-called lumped
group consisted of 14 business groups whose combined contribution to the statewide
waste stream was less than 5 percent.
A major contribution of the CIWMB study was that it analyzed which businesses gen-
erated similar percentages of components in their waste streams (such as paper, metal,
and plastics). The CIWMB based these groupings on the SIC codes established by the
U.S. government; Department of Commerce. The SIC code system has been in use since
the 1930s and was established to promote uniformity and comparability of data collected
and published by U.S. agencies (U.S. Department of Labor, www.dol.gov, retrieved
May 4, 2002). A major drawback of this study was the waste grouping procedure.
The procedure used in this study was subjective and not based on a statistical method.
Benefits and contributions of this study were

■ The research team physically collected the data, increasing the reliability.
■ Businesses were categorized into 38 groups that generate similar waste streams.
These groups were based on SIC codes. This was the most significant and most
heavily researched contribution of the study.
■ Annual per employee waste volumes (in terms of cubic yards) were estimated for
each of the 38 groups.