INFORMATION-RETRIEVAL IN SOLID-WASTE MANAGEMENT

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.