2007 Solid Waste Management Plan

2.5 Data Collection and Reporting
Reliable data on the quantities of solid waste disposed and recycled are necessary in order to conduct State and municipal waste management planning, assure future disposal capacity and provide citizens with a means to measure the success of local efforts to recycle and reduce waste. Terms used in this Plan include:

Waste imported from outside of Nevada is not counted in the recycling rate.

The data referred to in the above sections are useful for discussing trends and making comparisons, although there are areas where information is lacking or questionable. The following provides general comments on the quality and interpretation of the solid waste data.

2.5.1 Disposal Quantities and Per Capita Generation Rates
On a statewide basis Nevada's solid waste disposal data is reliable. Quarterly, semi-annual or annual disposal reports are required from all landfills. The larger landfills weigh the incoming waste on scales, which captures over 95% of Nevada's disposed waste. The smaller landfills, however, do not have scales and use volume estimates with conversion factors to calculate and report tonnage disposed. In the rural counties, wide variations in per capita generation rates, shown on Figure 4, highlight the inexact nature of volume estimates. The anomalously low rates of Lander and Pershing Counties are probably due to underestimating disposal volume. It is unclear why Churchill's rate is low, since all of this county's waste is disposed at either the Lockwood Landfill or City of Fallon Landfill, both of which have scales. Figure 5 shows greater consistency in the disposal data gathered from landfills with scales. These data indicate a weighted average MSW generation rate of over 10 pounds/person/day.

Figure 4. Municipal solid waste generated per capita for each County. Esmeralda, Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and White Pine weight is calculated from volume estimates. The generation rate in the figure represents landfilled or diverted MSW by County origin. The average represents the weighted average based on population. (The most current data compiled is calendar year 2005)

Figure 5. Municipal solid waste generated per capita for each county using disposal sites equipped with scales. The generation rate in the figure represents landfilled or diverted MSW by County origin. The average represents the weighted average based on population. (The most current data compiled is calendar year 2005)

It has been suggested that Nevada's tourism economy has an effect on the municipal waste generation rate. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority reports that over 35 million people visit the area per year. These visitors are transient generators of municipal solid waste and are not counted in with the resident population. As such, per capita waste generation tends to be higher in the high-tourism areas than in non-tourism economies. A waste characterization study would be needed to assess waste generation patterns associated with tourism and to better explain the variation in generation rates of Nevada's municipalities.

2.5.2 Recycling Quantities
The 66th Nevada Legislature (1991) set a goal of recycling 25% of the total solid waste generated in each municipality. In order to evaluate progress toward this recycling goal, the NDEP surveys county recycling rates each year. While the concept of recording and reporting the quantities of all the materials recycled may seem simple, it demands the effort and cooperation of municipal governments, recycling centers and disposal services to gather and record accurate data. In counties with populations greater than 40,000, recycling centers are required to submit a certified annual report of the types as well as volume materials recycled to the municipal government. The municipalities compile this information into their annual recycling rate report to the NDEP. As is often the case, the municipalities do not receive complete and/or accurate reports in a timely manner, requiring prompting and/or follow-up with the recycling centers. Although regulations require recycling centers to report, there are no penalty provisions for failure to submit. The municipality must also take care to avoid double counting materials, which happens, for example, if a recyclable material generator and the recycling center that receives it both report it as recycled. Finally, in reviewing the municipal reports, the NDEP checks the data to verify its accuracy. Any abnormal or inconsistent numbers are flagged and the reporting county is contacted for additional information or clarification.

The Biennial Recycling and Waste Reduction Report attempts to answer the question of "how well Nevada is recycling?" Looking at the county and statewide data and comparing it to past years can verify if the State is making progress. Comparing the recycling rate for one county to that of another is also useful in that the area with the higher rate may be doing something worthy of imitation. Yet one must use caution when drawing conclusions from such comparisons. The 2005 urban municipality recycling rate varies between Clark County's rate of 19% to Carson City's and Washoe County's rates of 47% and 27%, respectively. This brings to question, are the differences real, or simply a reflection of differences in calculation methodology?

Historically, the NDEP's experience in working with the municipalities that conduct the recycling rate calculations suggest that Washoe County and Carson City are more effective at collecting the recycling data, partly because the recyclers in the north are more habituated to the routine of annual reporting and more cooperative in this effort. With this in mind, it may be that the Clark County recycling rate is under-reported.

Another data anomaly worth noting is that Clark County's waste generation rate (i.e. the amount disposed plus the amount recycled) is significantly lower than that of Washoe County or Carson City (see Figure 5). This is an unexpected finding, for which no explanation has been put forth to date.

It is important that the State and the local governments provide reliable and meaningful measures of recycling rates. In order to build public confidence in the reports, it is also important that the data collected be verifiable, and that the terms and methods used in calculating the rate be simple, consistent and available for public review. The SWMA's have agreed upon a standard set of reporting criteria and are working with the local governments and recyclers to improve the collection and reporting of recycling data.

NDEP and the solid waste management authorities have partnered with U.S. EPA Region 9 to develop consistent recycling reporting data between the Pacific Southwest states to facilitate the sharing of recycling program opportunities for improvement as well as interstate recycling measurement issues. In collecting and reporting data, the State and local governments will strive to clearly identify municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris recycling data using U.S. EPA's definitions.

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