A Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) research team (Sagarika Srivastava, Dr. Firman Firmansyah, Dr. Krista L. Thyberg, Dr. David J. Tonjes, and Dr. Elizabeth Hewitt), has published a new study in the journal Waste Management. The paper, titled “EPA model estimates and waste characterization studies: US paper disposal dynamics,” examines the two primary methods for calculating municipal solid waste (MSW) and uncovers inconsistencies that could have major implications for national policy.
This research compared data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Material Flow Models with data extracted from 299 individual Waste Characterization Studies (WCS) across the United States. The EPA method utilizes a modeling approach, while the Waste Characterization Studies manually sorted samples of waste to determine waste composition and quantities. Focusing on total paper, newspaper, and corrugated cardboard, the analysis showed that the data patterns for the two methods were significantly different. For instance, In 2018, disposal estimates from WCS were considerably higher than the EPA’s figures by 25.5 million tonnes for all paper, 0.2 million tonnes for newspaper, and 10.5 million tonnes for corrugated cardboard.
The WDAC research team stresses that these data discrepancies are critical because EPA figures are widely used to drive national solid waste planning, impact assessments, and important climate change models. The study concludes that using the most accurate data is essential for making informed policy decisions, particularly for climate change avoidance and mitigation strategies.