The Mid-America Regional Council Solid Waste Management District (MARC SWMD) serves as the regional solid waste planning agency for local governments in Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri, and works cooperatively with communities in Kansas. The MARC SWMD’s purpose is to divert waste through waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs, with an ambitious goal of achieving 80 percent waste reduction by 2023.
MARC SWMD contracted with SCS to develop benchmark tool to assess each member community’s progress in meeting the adopted waste diversion goals. The benchmarking process involved a four-step process:
- Identify Parameters for Benchmarking Recycling Activities – SCS developed parameters of successful waste diversion programs based on our experience with municipal waste diversion programs across the country. These parameters included convenience, incentive to recycle special waste programs, metrics, government programs, and education and promotion.
- Assess Recycling/Diversion Activities Currently in Place – Using available information for each community (identified above), SCS assessed waste diversion activities according to the benchmarking parameters.
- Assign a Point Value for These Activities – When available information demonstrated that a community provided particular waste diversion services or had the appropriate infrastructure in place, points were assigned to that community.
- Establish a Rating for Each Community’s Recycling Activities – SCS, in collaboration with MARC SWMD, established a rating system similar to a medal system: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Communities with the highest number of points accrued for the benchmarking parameters were assigned the rating of Gold.
SCS presented key findings and recommendations to the MARC SWMD Executive Board and Management Council. Highlights of this project include:
- Inter-municipality facilitation
- Public presentations
- Waste projections
- Market analysis
- Landfill disposal evaluation
- Recycling evaluation
