Sustainable Materials Management (SMM)

Vision for Iowa

Welcome to the Sustainable Materials Management – Vision for Iowa website! The webpages contained herein provides background of Iowa’s current integrated solid waste management and how sustainable materials management (SMM) takes a new approach for providing improved public health and environmental protection through a more complete assessment of solid waste management and setting priorities.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has initiated a process to identify a preferred vision for Iowa as it relates to living sustainably through improved solid waste management policy and programs. The pages of this website provide background information and updates as the process moves forward. It also provides for participation through surveys and comments as we seek to reduce waste and its impact on our air, water and land.

Thank you for taking an interest in the Sustainable Materials Management – Vision for Iowa.

Activities, Meetings & Reports

The Environmental Protection Commission approved extending the contract with SCS Engineers, to continue investigating SMM as an alternative materials management system for the State of Iowa.

Actions to be undertaken with SMM stakeholders and DNR staff include:

• Perform life cycle analyses on up to four materials representing current management strategies and perform up to three alternative management strategy analyses.
• Research and summarize methods used by states and other entities to receive recycling processing data from targeted facilities.
• Identify strategies to regularly receive important recycling program data from identified facilities and/or programs and develop actionable recommendations to establish a reporting system.
• Develop work plans based on the results of the Statewide Food Waste Prevention and Management Plan and the Iowa Recycling Facility Study.
• Develop planning level implementation cost estimates for up to three selected strategies, and
• Develop final work plans, facilitate meetings with identified stakeholders and SMM subcommittees, and conduct project update meeting agendas and summaries.

Landfill Material Analysis Study Report

Study investigated landfilled materials that could have been recovered for recycling, reuse, composting, and remanufacturing. The analysis includes material recoverability and impacts to greenhouse gas emissions, job creation and economic impact had these materials been diverted from the landfill. 

Iowa Recycling Facility Report

This study is an update to the 2017 recycling study documenting tons of traditional recyclables managed in Iowa and the flow of these materials throughout the state.. The State of Iowa (State) does not permit or license Iowa recycling facilities and these facilities are not required to provide operational data (i.e. materials accepted, tons processed). This voluntary survey of Iowa recycling facilities attempts to provide needed recycling data for planning purposes. 

2022 Deposit Container Recovery Rate Report

This report provides the methodology and calculated recovery rate of the state’s beverage container deposit law, also known as the “bottle bill.” This study continues DNR’s history of calculating the recovery rate of the deposit program in the state in order to assess its efficacy. The process for calculating a recovery rate in Iowa is unique because the State of Iowa does not require beverage distributors to report either sales or redemption data, making a straightforward calculation impossible. 

Food Waste Prevention and Management Plan

The plan will be a resource for reducing food waste and increasing beneficial management of food waste for higher and better uses. Work to be undertaken includes:

• estimating food waste generation and related impacts;
• inventorying and assessing existing Iowa food waste management facilities;
• identifying type and location of new food waste management infrastructure opportunities;
• assessing commercial food waste reduction opportunities;
• assessing end markets for managed food waste;
• researching food waste prevention and management systems of other states; and
• preparing a statewide food waste prevention and management plan.

Documents & Resources

Moving the Vision Forward

SMM – Moving the Vision Forward continues the stakeholder driven initiative to rethink Iowa’s integrated solid waste management system, in place for over 35 years. SMM represents a change in how our society thinks about the use of natural resources, their impacts and environmental protection.

Purpose

Build upon the shared stakeholder vision identified in the SMM Phase I effort to direct the State of Iowa to transition from its present solid waste management policies and infrastructure to a comprehensive SMM system to better protect public health and safety and the environment.

Goal

Establish a clear direction for implementing an SMM system with immediate, medium and long-term strategies

Approach

• Establish SMM priorities
• Evaluate the applicability to Iowa of SMM implementation processes in other states
• Apply life cycle analysis (LCA) to selected materials
• Recommend strategies to implement SMM policies, programs, facilities, funding measures, and progress metrics

Process

• Prioritize material categories
• Select specific material types within each category
• Define specific strategies
  • Legislation
  • Policies
  • Programs
  • Infrastructure
  • Funding mechanism
• Identify implementation timeline, responsible party, and performance metrics

“Sustainable materials management is an approach to using and reusing materials most productively throughout their entire life cycles” (EPA).

Historical Information