The mission of the Resource Conservation and Waste Management Group is to promote increased research, innovation, environmental soundness and cost-effectiveness of various waste management and pollution prevention technologies and to provide a forum for discussions on all aspects of the following broad areas.

• Management, treatment and disposal of all wastes, including:
  • municipal and industrial/commercial solid wastes
  • construction debris
  • medical wastes
  • electronic wastes
  • agricultural wastes
  • hazardous wastes
  • radioactive wastes
  • mixed wastes
• Characterization, investigation, remediation, and redevelopment of contaminated sites
• Pollution prevention, waste minimization, recycle & reuse

The Resource Conservation and Waste Management Group, through its two Divisions, strives to accomplish the following:

• Promote understanding of sustainable practices in the private and public sectors to value waste as a resource to be tapped with the overall goal of reducing the quantity of wastes that need to be disposed.
• Promote the concept of integrated management of all solid wastes, including, but not limited to, municipal solid waste, medical waste, and sewage sludge.
• Facilitate discussions on all aspects of waste landfilling, landfarming, and composting processes such as technical design, operation and maintenance, legislative and regulatory initiatives, site development and permitting, environmental impacts and mitigation, and socio-economic considerations.
• Promote understanding of the design, siting, permitting, emissions control, proper operation, monitoring, and environmental impacts of thermal and mechanical processes and facilities for the treatment of regulated wastes including municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, institutional wastes, international wastes, commercial and/or industrial hazardous and non-hazardous wastes and the general residuals.
• Promote management programs and treatment methods for health care, biomedical and veterinary wastes. These include thermal treatment, pathogen disinfection, emission control, residue treatment, waste reduction, waste segregation, materials substitution and reformulation, recycling/reuse, and other processes.
• Facilitate discussions on current and emerging regulations, issues, trends, themes, and resources for site characterization and investigation of operating and abandoned contaminated sites including site redevelopment and closure.
• Facilitate discussions on current and emerging regulations, issues, trends, themes, and resources for hazardous, radioactive and mixed waste management, treatment, and disposal including waste minimization and pollution prevention.

The activities of the Resource Conservation and Waste Management Group are often coordinated with activities of the Environmental Management Group and to a more limited extent, with those of the Air Group. Sponsoring joint sessions with the other two groups are high on the agenda of the Waste group.

WM-1 (Integrated Management Committee)

This Committee addresses the concept of integrated waste management. It focuses on understanding and promoting waste management practices that consider all aspects of an interrelationship between source reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, techniques, treatment, programs, legislation, and regulations. The WM-1 Committee's purview encompasses evaluation of all non-hazardous solid wastes, including, but not limited to, municipal solid waste, medical waste, and sewage sludge.

WM-3 (Municipal Waste Treatment Committee)

This committee promotes understanding of the design, siting, permitting, emissions control, proper operation, monitoring, and environmental impacts (including risk) of thermal and mechanical processes and facilities for the treatment of municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, institutional wastes, international wastes (i.e., airport), commercial and/or industrial non-hazardous waste and special non-hazardous wastes(e.g., tires, auto fluff, demolition debris, etc.) and the general residuals.

WM-4 (Medical Waste Treatment Committee)

The focus of Medical Waste Treatment Committee is management programs and treatment methods for health care, biomedical and veterinary wastes. These include thermal treatment, pathogen disinfection, emission control, residue treatment, waste reduction, waste segregation, materials substitution and reformulation, recycling/reuse, and other processes.

WR-1 (Site Characterization, Investigation and Remediation/Redevelopment Committee)

This committee facilitates the exchange of current and emerging regulations, issues, trends, themes, and resources for site characterization and investigation of operating and abandoned contaminated sites.

WR-2 (Management and Treatment of Hazardous, Radioactive and Mixed Wastes Committee)

This committee's objectives are to promote improved understanding of the site remediation planning and design process focused on the selection of cost effective and implementable technologies, the execution of technically sound bench and/or pilot scale treatability studies, and the completion of sound engineering designs.