Webinar Announcement
EPA DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT
About the Webinar
The NSF SUstainable Material Management Extreme Events Reconnaissance (SUMMEER) organization (https://www.summeer.org), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is hosting Part 2 of a two-part webinar training series on the use of EPA decision support tools for waste management (Part 1 is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPfLoDri3c). The webinar will focus on the MSW Decision Support Tool (MSW DST), which is a customizable desktop computer model that provides science-based, objective information about the economics and life-cycle environmental aspects (including energy consumption, air emissions, and water emissions) of solid waste management activities. MSW DST was developed by the Office of Research and Development of EPA to address the need for improved analytical tools to support solid waste management decision-making. The tool to be demonstrated also contains EJ Screen and tools for visualizing the results for use in solid waste management planning and communicating environmental performance. The webinar will be presented by Susan Thorneloe of EPA/ORD and Keith Weitz of RTI.
Interested participants can download and install MSWDST v2 prior to the webinar (not required for attendance). The MSWDST model version 2.0 can be locally installed on a system running Windows 10. The installation package can be downloaded using: https://mswdst.rti.org/model_v2/MSWDSTv2_setup_2_0_0_6_2021_03_22_1748.exe. Once the package is downloaded, open the set-up file and follow the steps of the setup wizards to complete the installation process.
The webinar is scheduled for July 13, 2022, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. EDT.
About the Presenters
Susan Thorneloe is a senior chemical engineer with the EPA/ORD in RTP, NC. Susan has led many research projects including understanding partitioning of pollutants in the environment from coal ash and other waste materials being considered for beneficial use, land application, and treatment/ remediation [i.e., Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF)]. Susan pioneered the use of life cycle assessment methodology for comparing alternatives for waste management to maximize resource and energy recovery from solid waste management. Ms. Thorneloe led the development of the MSW DST and other tools for more sustainable environmental management. Susan is a member of the International Waste Working Group and known internationally for her expertise and technical support. Ms. Thorneloe holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Keith Weitz has 30 years of experience at RTI International where he leads research in life cycle assessment and solid waste and materials management. Mr. Weitz specializes in the development of life cycle assessment data, methods, and decision support tools to support public and private sector decision makers. Mr. Weitz is currently leading work to support EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management and Circular Economy initiatives. Mr. Weitz holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Augustana College.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact:
Juyeong Choi – SUMMEER Director, jchoi@eng.famu.fsu.edu
Nazli Yesiller – SUMMEER Co-Director, nyesiller@gmail.com