P. Mandhani et al., INFORMATION-RETRIEVAL IN SOLID-WASTE MANAGEMENT, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A: Environmental science and engineering, 29(4), 1994, pp. 713-728
The passage of the solid waste recycling and reduction laws across the
United States has created a flurry of activity within environmental p
rotection agencies. These laws have made it essential for these agenci
es to achieve the set target and so each state government has ordered
for proper planning. A system that contains data on the amount of wast
e generated in various governmental entities and the waste management
practices followed by each will be helpful in this planning. In Louisi
ana, recycling coordinators were hired, recycling committees were form
ed and recycling plans were written. Parish recycling coordinators nee
ded information concerning recycling techniques, commodities markets a
nd other important aspects of solid waste management in order to more
efficiently write, review and update their recycling plans. Unfortunat
ely, locating the appropriate articles, publications and other pertine
nt data is difficult, at best. The Institute for Recyclable Materials
(IRM) under contract with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Qu
ality (LaDEQ) compiled a comprehensive computerized recycling and soli
d waste management bibliography and developed an online data retrieval
system for parish recycling coordinators to use in their search for r
elevant materials. This article discusses the specific techniques util
ized in developing this information retrieval system for Municipal Sol
id Waste (MSW) management. The retrieval system should be developed in
each state individually as the laws vary from state to state. This ar
ticle will aid other agencies in developing such a system. The laws pa
ssed in various states also make it necessary for the planners to gath
er information on the waste generated and various waste management pra
ctices so as to achieve their waste reduction goals. This type of retr
ieval system will assist these coordinators in meeting state goals and
requirements in a timely manner. The U.S. Congress has passed various
laws concerning pollution, solid wastes, and landfill disposal. Also,
the media has been responsible for increasing people's awareness towa
rd the environment. This has created a need for information regarding
the impact of solid waste disposal: recycling benefits and limitations
, markets for recycled materials, and the overall feasibility of recyc
ling, present status of research, etc. According to Czek (1991), there
has been a flurry of activity within local governments in regard to t
his increase in environmental concern. They are hiring recycling coord
inators, forming recycling communities, and writing recycling plans. T
hese activities require a great deal of information, and finding the a
ppropriate articles, publications, recycling centers, and other import
ant data is difficult and very time consuming. A standard definition o
f information is data that aids in the decision-making process. Inform
ation which can be retrieved when required is increased in value, whil
e long delays may render the information useless. Environmental engine
ering is a fast developing field and extensive research is being done
and valuable data generated at various places, including universities.
This data is voluminous and more is added every day. The quantity of
environmental data has increased dramatically and is probably going to
increase (Rose and Smith 1992). People, industries, and government ne
ed information on recycling, regulations, trends, and projections imme
diately - a task made possible only through the use of computerized on
line information retrieval systems where a user sits before a computer
and may get required information instantaneously. According to Mandha
ni and others (1992), the Institute for Recyclable Materials (IRM) st
Louisiana State University has developed an information retrieval syst
em called Solid Waste Information Management Systems (SWIMS). SWIMS ha
s been developed for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
(LaDEQ) for users such as parish recycling coordinators. In an online
information search, the users either use a hard-wired connection or n
eed a modem and communication software.