The communities of Southeast Alaska are small, rural, and isolated from one another by mountains and waterways. Cities and villages must deal with Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) on a community by community basis in a variety of ways, such as permitted landfilling, open burning, uncontrolled open dumping, composting, incineration, limited recycling, and the growing practice of baling and shipping solid waste to the lower 48 States for final disposal.
The Southeast Conference and its partner organization, the Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority (SEASWA), work with communities and the State to address growing challenges in local MSW Management. SEC and SEASWA advance the best solutions for handling solid waste, some of which are:
- Baling and compacting solid waste for shipping
- Increasing utilization of regional recycling and composting programs
- Increasing use of commercial burn units
- Raising awareness of upcycling opportunities
- Communicating the importance of waste sorting
- Procuring equipment to manage increasing amounts of tires
- Creating partnerships to share equipment across communities
The Regional Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategy outlines costs and implementation plans over the next three years. Read more about management strategies and project schedules below.
