Cook County Approves Solid Waste Management Plan

Today the Cook County Board approved President Preckwinkle’s Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) for suburban Cook County, the first plan generated in 12 years. The SWMP outlines the county’s current level of waste generation, disposal and recycling, and makes recommendations for improvement. President Preckwinkle’s 2012 Plan reimagines traditional solid waste planning. Instead of focusing on landfilling and waste-to-energy conversion, the SWMP first recommends source reduction (preventing waste in the first place), then reuse, then recycling, followed by energy recovery. Landfilling is a last resort. “We have a responsibility to the residents of Cook County, and future generations, to employ creative and aggressive measures to reduce solid waste in our communities,” President Preckwinkle said. “Our Solid Waste Management Plan is taking the first step in meeting this environmental challenge, and we are working toward a visionary goal of 100% waste diversion from landfills.”