Kansas Green Guide Your Bi-Weekly Guide to Sustainable Living

KDHE Solid Waste Reduction Survey July 19, 2013

Kansas Department of Health and Environments Bureau of Waste Management is using an online survey as one method of acquiring information from stakeholders about solid waste generation, disposal and recycling services. Any Kansan with Internet access is invited to participate starting now through August 16. The study is being conducted in accordance with a new Kansas statute. The Kansas Legislature passed House Bill 2249 late in the 2013 session requiring KDHE to perform a study that assesses the adequacy of solid waste reduction practices in Kansas and to report those findings to the Legislature in January 2014. While KDHE will collect information from this survey and through meetings with interested stakeholders, we will also be assembling available data to summarize trends in recycling, composting and waste disposal, said Bill Bider, director of KDHEs Bureau of Waste Management. The report we deliver to the Legislature in January 2014 will help policymakers decide if existing trends are adequate or if new laws or regulations are warranted to improve practices. Solid waste, defined by Kansas law, is garbage, refuse, waste tires and other discarded materials, including those solid, semisolid, sludges, liquid and contained gaseous waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial, agricultural and domestic activities. Existing Kansas law establishes several broad solid waste management policies including actions to encourage the wise use of resources through development of strategies that reduce, reuse, and recycle materials. Completion of this survey will help the bureau understand public opinion regarding waste management in general, waste reduction services, and related state policies. A link to this survey can be found on the KDHE websites home page, www.kdheks.gov, under the Featured Items sidebar. For the past 20 years KDHE has encouraged and assisted local governments and private businesses in the startup and operation of waste reduction programs. Significant progress has been made over this period to increase waste diversion from landfills and nearly one-third of all municipal solid waste, or more than 1 million tons, was recycled or beneficially used in 2011. These efforts conserve valuable natural resources and limited landfill space.

Dissemination of Kansas Green Guide by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a governmental agency, is solely for the non-commercial purpose of informing and educating the public. References to specific companies do not constitute a KDHE endorsement. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau of Waste Management, at info@kansasgreenteams.org.