A Waste Agency By Any Other Name...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that, effective Jan. 18, the Office of Solid Waste (OSW) has been reorganized and renamed as the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR).

The reorganization consolidates complementary functions in order to achieve efficiencies in operations. This reorganization consolidates the four major areas of the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) under one division; combines data collection and data analysis activities thus streamlining operations to better coordinate EPA’s efforts to analyze and present the benefits of its program; and consolidates waste-to-energy activities in one division and branch.

Whether this change represents a fundamental shift in how the former OSW does business — perhaps in concert with the new administration — or is just a superficial make over remains to be seen. We can only hope that it reflects the federal government’s intention to make recycling and conservation a national priority.