Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005
Governor Minner Directs DNREC to Create Technical Group to Evaluate Technologies and Management of Solid Waste
Dover – Governor Ruth Ann Minner has directed Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes to establish a Solid Waste Management Technical Working Group to evaluate and develop methods for handling the state’s solid waste.
“While I strongly believe that increased recycling rates and a yard-waste ban should be part of our long-term answer to solid waste management concerns in Delaware,” Governor Minner said, “even mandatory recycling is not a sufficient long-term solution to landfill capacity and solid-waste disposal concerns.”
Delawareans currently generate approximately 1 million tons of trash annually—about 15 percent of which is yard waste—and the state’s residential recycling rate of four percent trails well behind the national average. The Delaware Solid Waste Authority estimates the current life of Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington to be five years at current disposal rates and has applied to DNREC for a permit to expand capacity at the facility.
The working group’s charge will be to perform a review of available municipal solid waste management alternatives and recommend a program capable of meeting Delaware’s short and long-term needs. The group will consider environmental impact and benefit, cost, technical reliability, economic feasibility, flexibility, adaptability and funding sources.
The group will be comprised of individuals with technical and financial backgrounds and/or experience with solid waste management systems and technologies. The Director for the project will be Dr. Edwin H. “Toby” Clark who served as DNREC Secretary from 1989 to 1993. The Governor has asked that the group’s report be completed by May 16, 2006.
All meetings of the group will be open to the public and there will be opportunities for public input
