Progress for a Stronger Future Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST Susan Thorneloe March 11, 2020 Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response Homeland Security & Materials Management Division System Tools and Materials Management Branch ------- COMPONENTS OF MSW DST Material LCA Datasets Completing final reviews of report and DST SWM Process Models US EPA Methodology Report SWM Datasets CESER - Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST 2 ------- Update to US EPA's MSW Decision Support Tool ¦ Updated process models and addition of anaerobic digestion ¦ Mixed-integer optimization to allow for anal/sis of MSW system evolution over a period of time and reflecting changes in energy grid over time ¦ Better visualization of results to track performance and communicate potential benefits of more sustainable strategies to community leaders ¦ Estimate of metrics for cost, LCA environmental and energy tradeoffs, and societal aspects such as land usage and population density > Cost is based on full cost accounting > Environmental metrics include carbon emissions, energy and land usage, waterborne pollutants, air criteria pollutants, and other life-cycle environmental tradeoffs CESER - Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST ------- ONGOING WORK TO COMPLETE MSW DST • Completed work to remove private source solver used in S- WOLF- • No cost to end users running the MSW DST • DST now runs both in optimization and accounting modes • Phase I review is completed with phase 2 beginning in April- prefer to include users already familiar with the MSW DST • Depending upon findings from Phase 2 review, there may be a phase 3 that includes new users to the MSW DST CESER - Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST 4 ------- BENEFITS FROM USING THE MSW DST ¦ Use of standardized process for evaluation that is internally consistent and can reflect the net LCA environmental tradeoffs, costs, and other societal aspects such as land usage • Assess the potential roles of specific technologies or strategies to meet policy goals • Identify important system interactions and potential unintended consequences • Consider uncertainties in markets, fuel prices, technologies, and policy • Provides information to benchmark and track environmental performance over time ¦Ability to reflect differences in how the energy system evolves over time which will have profound impacts on our environment, including climate, air and water CESER - Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST 5 ------- SUMMARY •This research is a result of collaboration between NCSU, RTI International and EPA's Office of Research & Development thru funding by NSF, EREF, EPA, and DOE •Communities will be able to use this tool in developing more sustainable and resilient solid waste management infrastructure •The tool can help communities respond to challenges such as changes in markets, energy, and environmental priorities CESER - Ongoing and Future Directions of the MSW DST 6 ------- oEPA For More Information Contact Information: Susan Thorneloe Thorneloe.Susan@epa.gov (919)-541 -2709 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Furthermore, any mention of trade names, products, or services does not imply an endorsement by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA does not endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises. ------- |