Founded in 2001, the SWANA Applied Research Foundation is now in its fourth year.

By Kathy Lane

The purpose of the SWANA Applied Research Foundation (ARF) is to conduct collectively funded and defined applied research projects that address pressing solid waste issues identified by the foundation’s subscribers. The ARF is funded by member jurisdictions and other organizations that contribute an annual subscription fee amounting to a “penny per ton” of the solid waste collected or managed annually through their systems.

ARF subscribers belong to one or more of four research groups that direct the foundation’s research activities:

• Recycling (including Waste Reduction and Composting)
• Collection
• Waste-to-Energy (and Other Recovery Systems)
• Disposal

The current activities of each group are summarized in Table 1.

The subscribing members of the SWANA ARF for fiscal year 2005 (September 2004 to August 2005) are presented in Table 2. SWANA applauds these members for their commitment and leadership demonstrated through their funding and direct involvement in the ongoing research of the ARF.

Leveraging Research Dollars
The MSW management industry in the United States generates over $40 billion in revenues annually (R.W. Beck and Chartwell Information Publishers April 2001). Despite the size of the industry, its critical role in protecting public health and supporting economic development, and its continuing need to address new waste management developments and challenges, a very small amount is invested annually in research. While no official numbers are available, a safe estimate is that less than $10 million—representing less than 0.025% of annual revenues—is spent annually in the US on MSW research.

This paucity of research investment underscores the need to leverage any research dollars that are invested in MSW research.

Current Research Efforts
Besides the SWANA ARF, there is a small number of additional research organizations that conduct basic and/or applied research on topics related to MSW management. Notable among these are the following federal, state, trade, and local government research organizations:

Federal
National Science Foundation: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…” With an annual budget of about $5.5 billion, the NSF is the funding source for approximately 20% of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

The NSF fulfills its mission chiefly by issuing limited-term grants—currently about 10,000 new awards per year, with an average duration of three years—to fund specific research proposals that have been judged most promising by a rigorous and objective merit-review system. Most of these awards go to individuals or small groups of investigators. Others provide funding for research centers, instruments, and facilities that allow scientists, engineers, and students to work at the outermost frontiers of knowledge.

While the NSF targets basic scientific research, a small number of its current research projects have direct or indirect applications to MSW management.

EPA ORD National Center for Environmental Research: The National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is a program of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development whose mission is to support high-quality research by the nation’s leading scientists that will improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help the EPA achieve its goals. Of the hundreds of research projects currently being sponsored by the NCER, about 25 appear to be directly or indirectly targeting MSW research topics.

State
Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management: Created in 1998 by the State of Florida’s Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Act, the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management is a State University System Type I center that coordinates research, training, and service activities relating to waste management. The Chancellor of the Board of Regents designated the University of Florida to be the host institution. Nine state universities are the primary recipients of research funding. The center serves the citizens of Florida by providing leadership in the field of waste management research and by supporting the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in its mission to preserve and protect the state’s natural resources. The center has sponsored over 100 MSW research projects since its inception.

Trade
Environmental Research and Education Foundation: The Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) was originally formed in 1992 as a subsidiary and resource for the National Solid Wastes Management Association and, later, the Environmental Industry Associations. This changed dramatically in 1998 when—in a strategic move to reflect more accurately the foundation’s mission to develop environmental solutions for the future—the board of directors renamed the organization.

The EREF is an independent public grant-making entity whose mission is to develop environmental solutions for the future. As a nonprofit research organization, the EREF is committed to serving the public good and widely disseminating the results of its research. The EREF does not represent any specific interests, by design or inference, within the waste service industry. The EREF’s mission includes the development of technological innovations that promote the safety of waste service employees and the public, as well as waste service productivity and resource conservation, educational initiatives to increase the public’s understanding of waste service, and scientific discoveries and applied research that advance state-of-the-art waste services for the ages.

Local Government
Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence: The Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence offers a “one stop” resource for services and expertise in sustainable management of municipal, industrial, and agricultural solid waste and wastewater.

The centre, a unique public-private partnership now in its third year of operation, encompasses the world’s largest variety of leading-edge waste management facilities within a small geographic area. The facilities, representing a public and private capital investment of almost $850 million, include one of the world’s most advanced biological wastewater treatment plants and North America’s largest co-composting plant.

The centre’s key strength lies in the combined resources of its six highly regarded partners: the City of Edmonton (also a sponsor of the SWANA ARF), AMEC Earth and Environmental, the University of Alberta, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Olds College, and the Alberta Research Council. These partners offer diverse, interlinked resources that span Alberta through virtual technology and can also be accessed through traditional modes. Expertise in research and development, education, and training is shared, creating a nourishing, dynamic climate for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The ARF’s Vision and Role
The SWANA ARF applauds and supports the goals and activities of these and other organizations devoted to the improvement of MSW management through basic and applied research.

In light of the work being done by these organizations as well as the extremely limited funding levels devoted to MSW research, the ARF has focused its recent efforts on two primary areas:

1. The compilation and dissemination of research findings of these other organizations in a manner that can be understood and used by the solid waste practitioner
2. The collection and analysis of service performance and cost data that enhance the benchmarking and improvement of solid waste services

Over the next five years, the ARF hopes to expand and strengthen its partnerships with these and other research organizations. The ARF can bring the following unique strengths to these partnerships, including the following:

• SWANA’s international membership of over 7,000 public and private sector solid waste managers and practitioners, many of whom are renowned experts in their respective fields
• Established international distribution channels for publications and workshops
• Field testing capabilities through the facilities and service areas represented by SWANA members
• Matching research funding provided by the ARF’s local government and corporate subscribers

Conclusions
The research needs in the field of MSW management are constantly changing as new developments and service requirements occur. Hot research and development topics currently range from the disposal of diseased animals and bioterrorism wastes to alternative vehicle fuels for refuse collection vehicles.

In these days of extremely limited research dollars and ever-changing research needs, the SWANA ARF intends to “work smarter and harder” through the development of strategic research partnerships built on the strengths of each partnering organization.

For more information on the foundation, please contact Jeremy O’Brien, P.E., SWANA’s director of applied research, at 704-906-7269 or jobrien@swana.org.

Reference
R.W. Beck and Chartwell Information Publishers. April 2001. Size of the U.S. solid waste industry. Alexandria, VA: Environmental Research and Education Foundation.

Kathy Lane is associate director of SWANA.

MSW - Elements 2006