As a waste management consultant, rarely do I come across another consultant’s report that not only delights and excites, but compels me to promote, disseminate, and speak-out about its findings. Such was the case several months ago when Dr. Jeffery Morris of Sound Resource Management, based in the State of Washington, responded to my request for information on quantifying the benefits of using finished compost.
Morris forwarded me an excel model entitled “Environmental Value of Recycling and Composting” that’s the culmination of research projects and peer-reviewed articles going back more than five years, including work for the San Luis Obispo County, California Integrated Waste Management Authority, Seattle Public Utilities, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the King County,Washington Department of Natural Resources. This model — which I like to call the “Morris Calculator” — could fundamentally shift the way that waste management costs are measured in future.
