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deficiency be addressed. It is time for the State to take a proactive leadership role and address this key issue. 2. Environmental impacts. One thing that needs to be point out is, while each phase in the solid waste management process produces GHG (green house gas) emissions overall the solid waste management sector has accomplished very significant reductions of GHG emissions from solid waste activities. According to a study for the Journal of the Air & Water Management Association, greenhouse gas emissions from the solid waste sector have been reduced by 75% while the total generation of solid waste has more than doubled. No other major industrial sector in North America can make a similar claim for the goods or services they provide. These reductions have been achieved through an integrated system of solid waste management that includes landfill gas recovery, waste -to -energy, increased diversion from landfills through recycling and composting, as well as compliance with emissions requirements and improvement in overall management. The only aspect where GHG emissions showed an increase within solid waste has been in transportation. This seems to point more to an "organized" collection effort for the State to promote, but under the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) this was never identified as an initiative! What would be the statewide saving in both fuel costs and reduction in GHG if a statewide initiative to have organized collection was in place? Plus as outlined in the Report, residents usually see a cost saving under an organized collection — what would that saving be statewide? The main point is, residents can save money and at the same time reduce the fuel being used and GHG emissions within the State. One item the MCCAG did point out was to increase the level of recycling. This Report does highlight that under organized collection there is a significant increase in recycling pounds per household ("recovery rate"). So under the GHG scenario, organized collection has many benefits. One thing the Report did not address was the benefits of organized collection in a rural environment versus an urban one. Intuitively, it would be more beneficial to have one hauler going down a county road. With one hauler, they can maximize their efficiency while minimizing their cost. This has many benefits — being cheaper means they can extend their route and service more county residents at a price people are now accustomed to. With more rural residents under a solid waste pickup service, this should start a decrease in illegal dumping and burning. Plus you have the additional benefits of using less fuel, reduction in GHG, and less wear -and -tear on the roads. An additional environmental issue that was not addressed in this Report was burn barrels. Without an organized collection system in place, there is no incentive for people to do the right thing. Many find it cheaper to burn than hire a hauler. A large concern voiced by counties in Greater Minnesota is illegal dumping. Reviewing the Zenith Report, Open Burning in Rural Minnesota (OEA, 2005), they estimated that 45% of the people in Greater Minnesota occasionally use a burn barrel, fire pit, fireplace, wood stove, or other method to dispose of their garbage. As outlined on the MPCA website, burn barrels has as much as 80 times more air X:\MS\IE\2008\08M081\10000 reports\Final Appendices\Appendix I1 -Public Comments.doc 8