State Solid Waste Management Plan
How Can I Get A Copy of the State Plan?
The 2009 State Solid Waste Management Plan (2009 State Plan) is available on Ohio EPA’s Web site as a PDF document. To request a hard copy of the 2009 State Plan, call the Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management at (614) 644-2621.
If you are interested in a summary of the 2009 State Plan, then you can read the Executive Summary. This summary provides an overview of the contents of the 2009 State Plan as well as an account of the major changes introduced.
What Is Ohio’s State Solid Waste Management Plan?
The State Solid Waste Management Plan (state plan) is a law-based solid waste planning tool that was created in the late 1980s by House Bill 592, Ohio’s landmark solid waste legislation. House Bill 592 established a comprehensive solid waste regulatory and planning program for Ohio. The state plan is one facet of that planning program.
The state plan contains Ohio’s strategy for reducing the State’s reliance on landfills to manage its solid waste. The state plan also complements Ohio’s efforts to ensure that solid waste is managed in ways that are protective of human health and the environment.
Ohio’s solid waste law requires the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) working with the Solid Waste Management Advisory Council (“SWAC”) to prepare and adopt the state plan. Ohio’s law further requires SWAC and Ohio EPA to review the state plan every three years and prepare an update if conditions warrant an update.
The director of Ohio adopted the most recent version of the state plan, the 2009 State Solid Waste Management Plan (2009 State Plan), on March 3, 2010.
What are the Requirements for the State Plan?
- Reduce reliance on the use of landfills for the management of solid waste;
- Establish objectives for solid waste reduction, recycling, reuse, and minimization (addressed in Chapter 3);
- Establish restrictions on the types of solid waste disposed of by landfilling for which alternative management methods are available (addressed in Chapter 4);
- Establish revised general criteria for locating solid waste facilities (addressed in Chapter 5);
- Examine alternative methods for disposing of fly ash and bottom ash resulting from burning mixed municipal solid waste (addressed in Chapter 6);
- Establish a statewide strategy for managing waste tires (addressed in Chapter 7);
- Establish a program for the proper separation and disposal of hazardous waste generated by households (addressed in Chapter 8); and,
- Develop specific recommendations for legislative and administrative actions to promote markets for products containing recycled materials and to promote the use by state government of products containing recycled materials (addressed in Chapter 9).
All of the requirements listed above are necessary to reduce how much solid waste is disposed of in solid waste landfills and to ensure that solid waste is managed properly. However, the primary function of the state plan and Ohio’s solid waste planning program is to foster waste reduction and recycling. To do this, the state plan establishes Ohio’s reduction and recycling goals. Following adoption of the state plan, Ohio’s solid waste management districts (SWMDs) are required to achieve the goals by preparing and implementing local solid waste management plans.
In addition to establishing recycling and reduction goals for Ohio’s SWMDs, the state plan establishes recycling and reduction strategies to be implemented at the state government level. These strategies are focused on efforts that Ohio’s state agencies can take to further recycling and waste reduction efforts.
What are Some Highlights of the 2009 State Plan?
The 2009 State Plan establishes nine waste reduction and recycling goals. These goals provide a framework for directing the types of recycling and reduction programs SWMDs provide. Some of the goals in the 2009 State Plan are the same as those from previous versions of the state plan. However, the 2009 State Plan does introduce three new goals and makes changes to some of the existing goals. These new and changed goals will increase Ohio’s waste reduction and recycling efforts. For a detailed discussion of all nine goals, please see Chapter 3 of the 2009 State Plan.
Some significant changes introduced with the 2009 State Plan are described below:
- SWMDs will develop outreach and marketing plans to guide their efforts to educate five target audiences. These plans will be the SWMDs’ strategic plans to establish needed recycling infrastructure and change recycling behavior instead of simply creating awareness;
- All SWMDs will provide four primary outreach programs: a Web site; an inventory of recycling options; a comprehensive resource guide that lists recycling opportunities by material; and a speaker/presenter;
- SWMDs will, for the first time, measure the effects of recycling and reduction programs on greenhouse gas emissions;
- The 2009 State Plan establishes incentives to encourage SWMDs and communities to implement the most effective waste reduction programs. These incentives provide SWMDs with flexibility for achieving program goals in exchange for implementing recycling services such as non-subscription curbside recycling and volume-based billing services;
- The 2009 State Plan recommends a number of new siting criteria and changes to existing siting criteria for solid waste facilities;
- The 2009 State Plan is the first version of the state plan to contain a chapter devoted to waste-to-energy technology. This chapter was included due to increasing interest in using waste-to-energy technologies to manage Ohio’s waste; and,
- The 2009 State Plan establishes 11 strategies to be implemented by Ohio’s government agencies.