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In 2001, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), PROP, EC & D Consulting and R.W. Beck began a comprehensive waste composition study. The purpose of the study was to determine what impact recycling has had in the Commonwealth over the last 15 years. Sites representing each of DEP's six regions were selected and sorts were conducted over each of the four seasons, with each site generally being visited twice. In addition to hosting sorts, PROP members also contributed valuable manpower to the sorts, earning the organization additional income while obtaining valuable insight into the composition of waste in the Commonwealth. The organization owes a special thanks to everyone who braved the elements to make the waste composition study so successful. The week-long study used hands-on sampling and sorting
of municipal solid waste. The project to identified and categorize the
State of Pennsylvania's waste stream into 37 pre-defined categories and
determined the most commonly disposed items. There were approximately
50 samples weighing 200-250 pounds. Samples were obtained from incoming
waste collection trucks at a total of 12 host disposal/processing facilities
across the State. Read
the Waste Composition Final Report |
