Iowa meeting to help develop state’s sustainable material management platform

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is holding an online public meeting Sept. 30 with stakeholders to discuss how waste is generated and managed in the state.  

The meeting, which is open to interested participants, will be held via Zoom from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (CST).

The second of four stakeholder meetings to be held over two years, this meeting aims to help investigate and develop a transition plan toward a sustainable materials management (SMM) system in the state, according to the Iowa DNR.

The DNR has worked with residents, businesses and institutions to craft a vision for SMM. According to the department, these meetings will help create specific strategies for the program through the integration of technology, infrastructure, policies, funding and performance metrics.

Iowa's existing solid waste management system focuses primarily on materials at the point of disposal. An SMM approach includes incorporating considerations such as recycling and composting waste discards into new products. However, it typically does not emphasize waste prevention or environmental impacts associated with the product’s lifecycle.

The Iowa SMM vision promotes finding new opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources and reduce costs associated with managing materials throughout their life cycle.