Due to the rapid growing environmental impact of “once through” waste products, the Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Performance (SWEEP) Standard aims to recognize and reward exemplary waste management practices in local governments and industries.
SWEEP’s Role
SWEEP’s role is to conduct a “state of the industry” analysis on Cornell and Tompkins County’s waste management infrastructure and programs. From this, CSC will produce a comprehensive report detailing findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for eventual SWEEP certification on both the campus and county level.
Current Work:
This semester, CSC is working with SWEEP on various projects pertaining to their expansion and development as a national standard. CSC researches national waste generation and relevant policies to provide a quantitative baseline to assess SWEEP’s pilots, creates a form to assess certifying entities’ progress towards certification, and produces a waste stream analysis of Ithaca, New York to aid with the city’s future certification.
What We Have Done
Speaking with the key individuals in Cornell and Tompkins County’s waste management systems to gauge both their ability and enthusiasm to pilot the SWEEP standard.
Compiling these findings in a Pilot Feasibility Gap Analysis report to be presented to the aforementioned stakeholders.
Compiling a Business Case report that summarizes the economic incentives of certifying SWEEP.
Collaborating with Arizona State University to develop the Campus Standard, a version of the SWEEP standard tailored specifically towards university campuses.
Our Partners:
Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol
Northeast Resource Recovery Association