MT-011 Waste-to-Energy Diversion

Manufacturing facilities located in regions/municipalities that restrict recycling opportunities for manufacturers may have to rely on waste diversion strategies that are not generally approved by the Institute. In these cases, waste-to-energy processes may be approved as a diversion method for select materials that have no other alternative.

To use this exception, the manufacturer must:

• Identify which specific material streams cannot be diverted in an approved method, and must instead use waste-to-energy; and
• Demonstrate efforts to maximize their material efficiency and therefore reduce the creation of waste by the time of certification, as well as efforts at continuous improvement by recertification; and
• Demonstrate that there are no alternative methods for waste disposal within the region or municipality where the facility is located; and
• If appropriate, advocate to the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) for the creation of sufficiently robust public waste diversion systems to create diversion opportunities not limited to recycling and/or composting.