Agenda - Council - 06/23/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 PART 3: PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Solid waste may be effectively managed by one or more of the following practices: o Waste reduction; o Source separation; o Processing for recovery of materials and/or energy; and/or o Final disposal. These management approaches apply to all solid wastes regardless of origin or physical form. The practicability of each technique should be evaluated as waste management decisions are made. These techniques are not mutually exclusive; each is necessary to manage solid waste comprehensively. Priority should be given to solid waste management strategies that conserve natural resources and energy, minimize environmental health hazards and minimize public costs. The potential for achieving these goals should be evaluated before waste management decisions are made. To facilitate the decision-making process, waste management strategies should be ranked in order of desirability (see Figure 1). Objectives 1. Establish an order of preference for solid waste management practices that will achieve environmentally safe disposal, conserve energy and material resources, and minimize total costs. Policies 1. The Metropolitan Council shall consider waste reduction practices as having the greatest benefit to improved solid waste management, followed, in order of preference, by source separation, waste processing and utilization, and land disposal. HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT Hazardous waste is any refuse, discarded materials or combination of refuse and discarded materials, in solid, semi-solid, liquid or gaseous form, that cannot be handled by routine waste management techniques because it poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or other living organisms (Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.121). This potential hazard justifies the need to implement an effective hazardous waste management program.