Q&A
Iowa’s EMS: Going Beyond Waste Diversion
Beverly Davis
Every solid waste manager knows that standardized waste diversion goals and recycling rates aren’t sustainable or best environmental practices for the 21st century and beyond. The limitations inherent with waste diversion regulations have dogged landfill managers—and regulators—for decades. There is a growing need by the industry to find a better way of regulating and managing landfills that would change the focus from “disposal management” to “environmental resource management.”
Offering an alternative to waste diversion, Iowa is leading the industry—and providing a successful template for others to follow—with its first-in-the-nation EMS, or Environmental Management System, voluntary law (HF 2570) that was unanimously passed by the state legislature in 2008. After a successful three-year pilot (2009-2011), EMS is now being offered statewide to all permitted landfill facilities.
Iowa’s EMS was developed and implemented through a collaborative effort that included the solid waste industry, state regulators and lawmakers. Tom Hadden, Executive Director, Metro Waste Authority (MWA), Brian Tormey, Bureau Land Chief, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and State Representative Donovan Olson (IA-D) were integral in designing the EMS law—they are interviewed for this article.
What is the EMS law and concept?
Tom Hadden: The EMS law is an Environmental Management System based on continuous and measureable improvements in six areas—greenhouse gases, household hazardous waste, yard waste management, recycling services, water quality improvement and consumer environmental education—all of which we [landfill managers] can control unlike diversion rates, where we have limited control. EMS is a holistic approach that looks at the entire waste stream cycle. We use computer software to track and measure continuous improvements focusing on resource management. Each solid waste agency defines their objectives in an EMS plan, which allows for flexibility, so that we can design activities and procedures based on our individual community needs and goals. EMS is not about hitting homeruns. EMS is about hitting singles every day with small, continuous improvements that over the long haul add up to big efficiencies, which is also consistent with best environmental practices.
Brian Tormey: Iowa’s voluntary EMS law consists of a set of management practices that follow general EMS guidelines: Plan, Do, Check, Act. The EMS program includes implementing a process for solid waste agencies to demonstrate regulatory compliance while identifying and engaging in activities—in the six environmental areas—that reduce solid waste, enhance environmental benefits, promote sustainable resource use, increase operational efficiencies and management effectiveness, decrease risk and liability, and commit to continuous improvement. With EMS, we’ve taken the focus away from “disposal management” and switched it to “environmental resource management.”
Rep. Donovan Olson: The purpose of Iowa’s EMS law is to encourage responsible environmental management and solid waste disposal and to promote better environmental stewardship. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory approach to meeting the provisions of the state’s Groundwater Protection Act. EMS participants are allowed to set aside the waste reduction regulations. They may qualify for financial assistance to implement their plan. EMS also partners the DNR with 44 public solid waste agencies, such as Metro Waste Authority, and four private landfill operators, where they are all working together to achieve EMS goals.
Who came up with the idea of an EMS law and why?
Brian Tormey: In 2006, DNR developed a position paper called Vision for the Future, based on the fact that while waste reduction had been good, it had hit a plateau. Instead of only looking at the waste reduction metric as our primary driver, we needed to start looking at resource management because solid waste agencies and their interaction with the environment extend way beyond just putting trash in a landfill. We invited a group of stakeholders together to discuss the paper’s recommendations and see if there was interest in developing an alternative to waste diversion regulations.
Tom Hadden: Brian Tormey set up a two-day meeting that brought all of the stakeholders—solid waste managers and state regulators—together to discuss what new options to waste diversion might be out there. A lot of us [solid waste managers] were struggling with chasing diversion goals because we knew that diversion alone wasn’t a sustainable system. Some could do it easily, basically without doing much, and others were working really hard, but not getting the numbers. At the end of our meeting with Brian, we agreed to start designing an alternative to waste diversion—EMS. To keep the ball moving, we sat down with Representative Donovan Olson, who had an understanding of diversion goals and landfills.
Rep. Donovan Olson: I had experience overseeing a landfill in Boone County as a member of the Board of Supervisors and I saw how easy it was for us to meet our diversion goals simply by taking credit for reductions at the Ames Resource Recovery plant that burns solid waste. Although the Boone Solid Waste Agency was very involved in recycling, we could have stopped recycling and other good environmental programs and still met the reduction goals. Then, I learned about other landfills that were doing everything they could to recycle, reduce and divert waste, but couldn’t meet their reduction goals for a variety of reasons beyond their control. When Brian and the solid waste agencies came to me with their EMS alternative, I immediately recognized that EMS had the potential to drive innovation and creativity and that’s when I decided to make EMS the focus of my energies as Chair of the House Environmental Protection Committee.
How long was EMS in the works before it became law? When was the EMS law passed?
Brian Tormey: It happened fairly quickly after we vetted our white paper with representatives from the solid waste agencies, small and large, in 2006. In 2007, we worked together as a group, reviewing DNR recommendations and educating ourselves on what EMS was and how it could work within the heavily regulated solid waste industry. We took our recommendations to Representative Olson, who helped us craft HF 2570 also known as the EMS law. HF 2570 passed unanimously by the Iowa Legislature in 2008 and our three-year pilot projects—six solid waste agencies from the smallest with five employees to the largest with 60 employees—started in 2009.
Who were the primary supporters?
Tom Hadden: Landfill agencies [ISOSWO, Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations], Representative Donovan Olson and the DNR supported EMS. The environmental groups—Sierra Club, Iowa Environmental Council and the Iowa Recycling Council—even supported EMS or, at least, didn’t fight it. We met with each of them, explaining why we needed EMS and what we were trying to achieve.
How did you manage to pass an EMS bill with a unanimous vote of Republicans and Democrats in a highly polarized political environment?
Brian Tormey: There wasn’t anything threatening in the bill. It was voluntary. The legislature allocated monies to support it, but it didn’t require any new funding source. We diverted money from our solid waste alternatives program funding. While no legislation is perfect, for years the landfill folks were saying they needed another system and we made it easy for the legislators to get behind it by doing our homework with all of our stakeholders.
Rep. Donovan Olson: Because the process was inclusive, open and non-partisan, it avoided the typical partisan bickering associated with much of the legislation you hear about today. It was truly an effort to replace a convoluted program and a strict fine-based regulation [waste diversion] with a non-regulatory alternative that encourages innovation and creativity. People still believe in a common sense approach to solving problems. I think the EMS legislation represents a way that we can get things done in the future.
How does Iowa make it easier to adopt an EMS program?
Brian Tormey: Some regulations such as the standardized waste reduction requirements and associated penalties if you didn’t meet diversion goals are waived for EMS participants. The state also provides technical assistance in the form of EMS training and EMS consultants—meetings; onsite visits by consultants, Webinars and conference calls—Intelex software (to track and measure EMS program results), greenhouse gas calculators and special grant funding. The state grants included $20,000 for new applicants, or Tier I, and $50,000 for Tier II agencies to help pay for EMS implementation. Our outside EMS consultants, GS&P, had their boots on the ground and this is one key to the successful results landfill managers experienced with EMS.
Tom Hadden: Iowa has actually put some resources into moving solid waste agencies in the EMS direction by offering grant funding, special software to measure results, and onsite consultants, because training is essential. The learning curve is pretty steep and getting your staff on board takes awhile because it’s a lot more work than the waste diversion system.
How was the EMS program designed and what are the essential elements included?
Tom Hadden: Iowa’s EMS program was designed by a nine-member Solid Waste Alternatives Program Advisory Council and based on six components that landfill managers could have control of—greenhouse gases, household hazardous waste, yard waste management, recycling services, water quality improvement and consumer environmental education—to facilitate implementation of EMS and guide solid waste agencies through the EMS process. Continuous improvement is the standard measurement for each EMS program and the basic concept for EMS.
Brian Tormey: Our EMS program follows the Plan, Do, Check, Act process that is consistent with general EMS guidelines. Our participants include 10 essential elements in their EMS programs: Environmental Policy Statement, Environmental Impacts, Objectives & Targets, Action Plan, Identify Roles & Responsibilities (staff), Communication, Training & Awareness (staff), Monitoring & Measurement, Assessment, Reevaluation and Modification and Legal & Other Requirements. An internal and external audit and report are required annually and reviewed by the Advisory Council.
What are EMS’ benefits?
Tom Hadden: EMS produces concrete results. EMS pushed us to be more proactive on safety and compliance issues. All of the EMS pilot solid waste agencies, including Metro Waste Authority, documented reduced environmental risks, increased operational efficiencies, improved employee moral and greater conservation of natural resources. It’s environmentally sound and you feel a whole lot better at the end of the day, because you’re doing the right thing.
What’s the timeline in starting an EMS program?
Brian Tormey: We realized with our first six pilot solid waste agencies—from the smallest to the largest—that 12 months wasn’t long enough. Based on the experience of the EMS pilot agencies, we now expect 18 months for new EMS participants to train their staffs and complete the planning process so they can start implementing their EMS programs in the second year. Starting an EMS program can be daunting for the newly initiated so that’s why the DNR provides experienced outside EMS consultants to landfill managers.
What are some examples of EMS programs that resulted in measurable positive impact on the environment?
Brian Tormey: The variety of EMS projects in Iowa range from CFL recycling and e-waste facilities to a big push for household hazardous recycling and nearly everything in between. They may seem small, but small, continuous and measureable improvement is the basis for EMS, which holds the potential for better environmental stewardship and cost-effective landfill management.
There is a new shingle-recycling program at Metro Waste Authority. The shingles used to land in the landfill. Now, they are delivered to MWA, cleaned for any debris, metals, and nails and then ground up and sold for use in hot mix asphalt for roads. It results in 3,700 tons of shingles recycled and diverted from the landfill, increased revenues and reduced environmental footprint.
The Waste Commission of Scott County operates the only publicly managed de-manufacturing E-Waste facility in the state, earning the R2 (Responsible Recycling) Certification as a direct result of their EMS program. As a result, business waste recycling rose by 360 percent in six months, adding 200 new business-recycling clients in six months.
Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency instituted a ‘NoIdle’ engine policy, requiring all vehicles at the Dubuque landfill to shut off their engines when not in motion. This new EMS policy reduced the facility’s carbon footprint by 50 percent from 2009 to 2012 and improved air quality.
Rathbun Area Solid Waste Agency initiated their new EMS school recycling program in six separate school districts by promoting permanent and comprehensive recycling education outreach efforts—brochures, community meetings, recycling events, installing large recycling containers in all school buildings—resulting in 12.14 tons recycled for the school year 2010 to 2011.
Cass County’s Vermeer BC 1500 Wood Chipper – part of their new EMS program – is now utilized by all of their rural county towns, including the county, to ground tree limbs and brush, resulting in less open-air burning and improved air quality. Communities also reuse the woodchips for their civic gardens and beautification projects.
Why has Metro Waste Authority signed up for the new EMS program?
Tom Hadden: My government career has always focused on the best way an organization can target resources and use them wisely. I always viewed waste diversion as an unsustainable environmental policy. EMS changed the whole paradigm with the goal of viewing waste as a resource by making continuous small improvements in those areas I can control. EMS encourages creativity and flexibility and rewards innovation. It is consistent with best environmental practices. EMS also helps our organization move forward by hiring people who are more open to change. It’s just a smarter, better way of doing business and caring for the environment. Any landfill can start an EMS program. You don’t have to wait for a law to be passed to do it, but the training is important and Iowa’s grant funding is also a big bonus.
For more information on Iowa’s EMS law, contact Leslie Goldsmith at (515) 281-8499 or via e-mail at [email protected] or visit
www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryLand/SolidWaste/ComprehensivePlanning/SolidWasteEMS.aspx.