*T?*. Fa-
Fact Sheet
Cutting
To Cut
"Today's software tools
empower waste
planners with the ability
to design the most
effective waste
management strategies
for achieving their
environment goals."
Eugene Lee
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
In 1998, the United States generated 220 million tons of munici-
pal solid waste (MSW). The landfilling and combustion of this
waste resulted in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 65 million
metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE). Today, a variety of
software programs and models are available to help managers and
planners reduce emissions at state, local, business, and institu-
tional levels. These tools can enable them to determine the
impact of their practices on climate change and the environment,
as well as strategies to reduce those impacts.
Comparison of Three Waste
Management Tools
The WAste Reduction Model (WARM) was developed by ICF Consulting for EPA's
Climate and Waste Program. The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign
Greenhouse Gas Emission Software was produced by Torrie Smith Associates for
the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The MSW
Decisions Support Tool (DST) was developed by EPA's Office of Research and
Development and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI). Each tool targets spe-
cific end-users to satisfy unique needs and constraints.
Comparison of Tools at a Glance
WARM CCP MSW DST
Primary to
End-Users
Type of Emissions
Sectors
All waste
management
planners
GHG
Waste
Municipal
government
planners
GHG, criteria pollutants
Waste, energy, and
State and local
planners
GHG, criteria
pollutants,
+30 other
pollutants
Waste
Model Outputs Emissions
Costs
Free
transportation*
Emissions,
energy use, cost
$240- $2,000
Emissions,
energy use,
cost, policy
targets, cost
and benefit
optimization
Variable
*The user can input direct greenhouse gas emissions from any identified source,
if the data are available.
The WAste
Reduction Model
The WAste Reduction Model (WARM) is a
user-friendly software tool that enables
waste managers to compare GHG emissions
from business-as-usual waste management
practices with emissions from alternative
strategies. WARM covers 17 types of materi-
als and 5 waste management options: source
reduction, recycling, combustion, compost-
ing, and landfilling. WARM also accounts for
transportation distances to disposal and
recycling facilities, carbon sequestration, and
utility offsets that result from landfill gas
collection and combustion.
WARM users input data on the amount of
waste handled by material type and man-
agement practice, and WARM instantly cal-
culates the associated emissions in metric
tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE) for base-
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line and alternative scenarios. The
difference between alternative emis-
sions and baseline emissions repre-
sents the benefits of changing your
waste management practices.
Available free on the Web and in
Microsoft ExcelŽ, this program is ideal
for waste planners to track and report
voluntary GHG emission reductions
from waste management practices and
to compare the climate change
impacts of different approaches.
CCP Software
The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP)
Campaign Greenhouse Gas Emission
Software is targeted for use by local
governments. This Windows-based tool
can analyze emissions and emissions
reductions on a community-wide basis
and for municipal operations alone.
The community-wide module looks at
residential, commercial, and industrial
buildings, transportation activity, and
community-generated waste. The
municipal operations module looks at
municipal buildings, fleets, and waste
from in-house operations. In addition
to computing greenhouse gas emis-
sions, the CCP software estimates
reductions in criteria air pollutants,
changes in energy consumption, and
financial costs and savings associated
with energy use reductions.
The software supports quantification
of emissions reductions from waste
reduction, source reduction, energy
savings, and fuel switching. Users
can employ the preformatted charts
and reports to develop cost-effective
action plans to monitor progress on
reducing emissions.
CCP software subscriptions, which
include technical support, are
available to governments that are
members of ICLEI for a subsidized
price of $240. The full retail price
of the software in the United
States is $2,000.
MSW Decision
Support Tool
The MSW Decision Support Tool
(DST) is intended for use by solid
waste planners at state and local
levels to analyze and compare MSW
management strategies with respect
to cost, energy consumption, and
environmental releases to the air,
land, and water. As such, this tool
calculates projected emissions of
greenhouse gases, criteria air pollu-
tants, and emissions of more than
30 air- and water-borne pollutants.
The MSW DST is designed to model
emissions associated with municipal
waste activities, including emissions
from source reduction, waste collec-
tion and transportation, materials
recovery facilities, transfer stations,
compost facilities, combustion and
refuse-derived fuel facilities, and land-
fills. The MSW DST can be used to per-
form complex analyses, such as deter-
mining the most cost-effective or
most energy-efficient waste manage-
ment strategy for reaching specific
policy goals (e.g., how best to divert
40 percent of landfill waste by 2005).
This modeling tool is available to
the public on a case-by-case basis.
The MSW DST studies vary in cost,
with simple analyses offered at no
charge, and complex analyses gener-
ally starting at $10,000. In addi-
tion, a supporting life cycle invento-
ry (LCI) database for North America
is planned for release in the fall of
2001. This comprehensive database
contains environmental emissions
and cost data on waste management
activities, materials production,
equipment usage, transportation,
and energy production.
Benefits
Solid waste management practices can
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
the waste sector, as well as reduce
upstream and downstream emissions.
Empowering waste managers and gov-
ernment planners with information on
the climate and other environmental
impacts of their current activities and
alternative practices enables them to
design the most effective strategies
for maximum environmental, econom-
ic, and social benefits.
Additional
Information
For EPA's WAste Reduction
Model (WARM), see
www.epa.gov/mswclimate
For the CCP Software, contact
ICLEI at http://www.iclei.org
For the MSW DST and LCI, contact
Keith Weitz, of RTI, at Kaw@rti.org,
or Susan Thorneloe, of EPA, at
Thorneloe.Susan@epa.gov
EPA's Climate and Waste Program increases
awareness of climate change and its link to
waste management in order to (1) make
greenhouse gas emissions a factor in waste
management decisions and (2) employ waste
management as a mitigation action for reduc-
ing greenhouse gas emissions. For additional
information on EPA's Climate and Waste
Program, see www.epa.gov/mswclimate.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5306W)
' 1
EPA 530-F-02-024
July 2002
www.epa.gov
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Vegetable Oil-Based Inks
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(Minimum 50% Postconsumer)
Process Chlorine Free
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