September 30, 2024

Michael Regan

USEPA Administrator

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Regan,

While the USEPA’s stated goal of a 50% recycling rate for the United States as a whole by 2030 is admirable, it will be impossible to achieve without major changes in the way municipal solid waste is handled. Burying trash in the ground, while seemingly a cheap and effective means of disposal, is neither cheap nor effective. In order to reach an actual recycling rate of 50%, we must end the practice of landfilling and replace it with an Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS), as practiced in many countries in Europe today.

Much of the material collected as recyclable in the US actually ends up in a landfill, due to cross contamination caused by the current practice of single stream collection – that is, all recyclable material goes in one bin. The alternative is source separation, in which the consumer separates recyclable materials before they are collected, guaranteeing freedom from contamination. Recycling rates in some European countries, such as Germany, exceed 60%, thanks to this practice.

The Institute for Energy and Resource Management (IeRM), a non-profit, 501c3 organization based in Seattle, Washington, works to promote the use of an IWMS in the United States. Our team members have been actively involved in the development, implementation, and management of IWMS for nearly three decades. By moving to such a system, the US can prevent the release of millions of tons of methane, greatly reduce the waste of valuable resources by increasing recycling rates, save the consumer hundreds of dollars per year in waste disposal costs, and create thousands of high-paying jobs in our communities.

We hope that the USEPA will recognize the success of the IWMS in Europe and choose to promote a similar system in the US. It’s time to stop wasting our waste.

Sincerely,

Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann

President and CEO – IeRM

+1-206-313-9774 // psp@ie-rm.org // www.ie-rm.org

CC: Senator Patty Murray

       Senator Maria Cantwell