Last Monday, I had the opportunity to meet with a delegation of Brazilians interested in solid waste management policies in the United States. They were visiting DC as part of a study tour hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). This partnership between the Brazilian regulators and NARUC is funded through a grant from the US EPA under the Global Methane Initiative. This initiative is an agreement between thirty-eight governments around the globe to pool resources to develop clean energy while creating stronger economies.
The delegation included many members from the Brazilian Association of Regulatory Agencies as well as local solid waste coordinators from throughout the Brazilian states. The objective of the tour was for participants to gain a better understanding of landfill gas-to-energy opportunities and challenges and to help create a dialogue between the two agencies on different regulatory methods to encourage the use of landfill gas as an energy source.
As recently as 2000, fifty-nine percent of waste in Brazil went to an open dump; however over the past decade the government has worked diligently to encourage more sanitary treatment of waste. This past August, the Federal Government implemented the Brazilian National Policy on Waste Management. This plan requires states to adopt their own integrated waste management plans and encourage regionalization as a way to converse resources while tackling solid waste issues. The law also puts much of the ownership of the collection of recyclables and solid waste on the producers and distributors of these products. They must draw up accords detailing their plans on how to collect these materials and how end-users and local governments will be involved in the process.
The delegation had many questions ranging from the average tip fee throughout the United States to how we educate our members. However the majority of the conversation focused on what factors drive American communities to consider one method of solid waste management over another. The participants were especially interested in what economic factors will drive a community to choose a traditional waste-to-energy plant.
In addition to meeting with me, the delegation toured two LFG facilities in the DC area and met with the Landfill Methane Outreach Program.