DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID WASTE PREDICTION,CHARACTERIZATION, AND MODELING TOOL FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

摘要

The goal of this study was to develop an integrated solid waste prediction and evaluation model. The purposes of the model were to better quantify solid waste generation compositions in order to evaluate performance of U.S. businesses and government agencies. A review of the literature showed that predicting and evaluating solid waste generation is relevant and important to environmental regulators and businesses. In addition, most studies lacked empirical support and rigorous statistical analyses, specifically related to individual company waste generation performance. To achieve the objective of this study, an integrated environmental model was developed to predict and evaluate solid waste generation rates. Data were collected from businesses and government agencies in the United States to answer research questions and build the integrated environmental model. The results of the national survey yielded 438 responses. U.S. business and government agencies were consolidated into 20 waste generating groups using multivariable cluster analysis. Significant variables that influence solid waste generation rates were identified for the 20 waste groups using stepwise regression analysis. Waste generation rates of individual companies in these waste groups were predicted and evaluated using performance parameters developed for this research. The findings of this research offer companies and regulators an effective means to improve environmental performance and allow them to predict and evaluate waste generation rates. Using the results of the research, companies can learn more about their strengths and weaknesses in their solid waste management and can then assess their generation performance versus industry specific benchmarks.