SWANA, Composting Council say bioreactors, composting can coexist

May 22 -- There´s a place for both composting and bioreactor landfills, the Solid Waste Association of North America and the United States Composting Council have agreed.

The two groups have issued a joint statement regarding the relationship of composting and bioreactor landfills, which speed the degradation of trash through the recirculation of liquid on the waste.

"While some people consider these technologies as conflicting, SWANA and USCC believe that they each serve beneficial but different roles and different functions in integrated waste management," the joint statement reads.

"It is important that both SWANA and the USCC agree that composting of organic materials is the highest and best use of these residuals and that emphasis should continue to be placed on recovering and recycling as much organic waste as possible from the solid waste stream," said Stuart Buckner, executive director of the composting council. "We agree, however, that the bioreactor approach can be used to improve the environmental performance of landfills without compromising our commitment to reducing our dependence on landfills by increasing the composting of organic wastes."