Sustainable Materials Management Plan (Formerly the Solid Waste Management Plan)

Per Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 444.570, the State Environmental Commission (SEC) is required to develop and update a statewide plan for solid waste management in Nevada. The 2022 Sustainable Materials Management Plan (Plan) is an update to and expansion of the previous 2017 Solid Waste Management Plan. This update was prepared by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management (BSMM) for the SEC.

Each update to the statewide Plan provides the BSMM with the opportunity to meet with stakeholders, analyze data and trends, review the efficacy of existing laws and regulations, and engage in informational discussions regarding the challenges and planning efforts to improve local solid waste management systems. Additionally, this review allows BSMM the opportunity to align waste management practices with current best management practices.

The Plan’s broad vision involves rethinking the landfill as the “go-to” end-of-life management option for products and materials. Instead, as its name suggests, this Plan promotes a sustainable materials management (SMM) approach as the more environmentally sound way to reduce and manage waste streams. SMM is a systemic approach that seeks to use and reuse materials and products more productively over their entire lifecycles from extraction to disposal. More specifically to waste management efforts, SMM promotes a circular system focused on source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting. This Plan seeks to align both solid and hazardous waste management efforts in Nevada with SMM practices.

To lay the foundation and begin the transition to a SMM system, the Plan strives to:

  • Provide a comprehensive evaluation of the current state of Nevada’s solid waste, hazardous waste, and materials management systems
  • Identify ways to align waste management efforts with SMM practices by finding the best end-of-life options for materials
  • Facilitate the development and adoption of source reduction and diversion solutions based on the solid waste management hierarchy and best science-based practices
  • Ensure that the waste that must be disposed of is managed in a safe and environmentally protective manner
  • Provide actionable information to the State, counties, municipalities, and SEC to move Nevada towards a more environmentally sound and sustainable management of materials

Current Version - Approved by the SEC 12/14/2022(pdf files)



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