SWEEP accepting comments for waste industry standard

The Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol (SWEEP) Municipal Standard draft has been published, and officials are seeking feedback from waste industry leaders. SWEEP, a program similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) model, says it is “a 21^st century standard for sustainable materials management.”

In a description on the draft, SWEEP says: “The Municipal Market SWEEP Standard evaluates the environmental, economic and social aspects of providing municipal solid waste services. The standard will be achievable by municipal governments of all sizes and covers a range of activities, whether contracted out to waste industry companies or provided by municipal employees.”

The new municipal standard, as well as the upcoming industry standard, is composed of six performance categories, which are designed to “comprehensively address sustainable waste management from intention (policy) through to implementation and verification (data collection),” SWEEP says on its website. Those categories are: sustainable material management policy (SMMP); waste generation and prevention (WGP); solid waste collection (SWC); post-collection recovery (PCR); post-collection disposal (PCD); and innovation.

In addition to the six core performance categories, a separate innovation performance category will recognize measures and approaches that are “beyond best practice,” SWEEP says. Within the performance categories, credit will be given for specific measurable and verified actions that further the goal.

SWEEP is accepting comments on the draft until the beginning of February. Those interested in contributing can do so in one of two ways:

• Email your comments, either on a company letterhead or accompanied by your full name, affiliation and email address, to info@sweepstandard.org.
• Sign up on the website and share your thoughts on the SWEEP Municipal Standard Comment Portal at http://nrra.net/sweep.