Solid advances in Cook County waste plan

On Tuesday, April 3, 2012, the Cook County Board approved the first Solid Waste Management Plan for suburban Cook County since 2000. In late 2010, Delta Institute  was enlisted by Cook County to make recommendations about the most effective ways to reduce waste and improve diversion rates in our region, Delta staff worked with Cook County to develop the plan and engage stakeholders in discussing the most pressing waste issues facing our communities.

 

Unlike previous plans, the new plan proposes radical changes to the traditional methods of managing solid waste and moves Cook County toward an aspirational goal of 100% diversion of solid waste from landfills. The Solid Waste Plan highlights source reduction, which means preventing waste in the first place, as the best diversion strategy. The Plan also recommends reuse, then recycling, energy recovery and using landfills as a last resort. Highlights of the plan include goals for a zero-waste county by 2020 and for increased sustainable building deconstructionin the region. For more information about the plan, go to http://blog.cookcountygov.com/2012/04/03/cook-county-approves-solid-wast.... ">http://blog.cookcountygov.com/2012/04/03/cook-county-approves-solid-waste-management-plan/.