State Level Discussions on Measurement Facilitated Table Top Discussions Outline
• Barriers
• Opportunities (Barrier Busters)
• System Changes
• How will States Use the Data
Barriers (Outline)
• Lack of Support/ Not a Priority/ Lack of Resources
• Trust
• System Issues
Barriers: Lack of Support/ Not a Priority/ Lack of Resources
• Limited staff and funds, no incentives, unfunded mandates, and staff turnover.
• Time constraints.
• Effort is time intensive.
• Even states with required reporting have resource issues regarding compiling and analysis.
• No laws and regulations – so various data limitations.
• Voluntary actions more difficult – no legislation, regulations, or guidance.
• Difficult to get state information from multiple sources.
• Disconnect between time spent and officials’ understanding.
• Confusing definitions.
• Grass roots programs and Source Reduction are hard to capture.
• No incentives currently to report.
• States need to have the ability to explain what they need in the module.
• The system and EPA need better communication.
• It is difficult to find a unified position –as gaps are very large.
• Low tipping fees.
Barriers: Trust
• Data integrity from states and dealing with quality issues.
• How do we make the data meaningful?
• Need to identify methods of measurement.
• Double reporting. Why do we have to report something that has already been reported elsewhere? It takes a lot of time to back out information out of state databases.
• Do states really follow what’s asked for in the system?
• Trust of data and the level of accuracy.
• Industry (and States) are leery of how the data will be used. Industry will be more reluctant in the future to provide data if they do not know what EPA will do with the data.
• Political issues may arise from the way the data is being portrayed.
• Climate impact may be exploitative from the data and could be problematic.
• Too many communities and counties that do things differently.
• Proprietary info issues and concerns, which leads into open records issues.
• Double counting concerns.
• Specific examples of how data is being used to negatively impact industry are needed because they are fearful of what we are going to do with the data.
Barriers: System Issues
• Time of data collection and timing of SMP report deadline. They do not align for all states.
• Missing data can lead to misinterpretation of state programs.
• Worried that by entering in information in the SMP the data loses its integrity.
• Hard to know and use the full potential of the Re-TRAC System.
• Re-TRAC can only be by one user at a time.
• Manual entry of data.
• Is mapping of information into proper categories an issue?
• How does industry access the data?
• Why does the SMP not feed into Facts and Figures?
• Does creating too many categories create holes in the data that weights sub categories disproportionately?
• How do you track convenience?
Opportunities (Barrier Busters)
• Bring industry in and address their concerns. Make them a partner in this process.
• Convene stakeholders to report and others to use the data, what is the importance of the data.
• Figure out a way to provide incentives.
• Need for testimonials on how SMP is used.
• Use SMP to show why measurement is needed.
• Add data requirements in municipal contracts and franchise agreements.
• Need champions / peer pressure / more focus.
• Host more events like the Measurement Matters Summit.
• Focus on resiliency, economy and jobs.
• More EPA communications on the importance of measurement and data collection.
Trust Enhancers
• Standardization.
• Transparency while getting necessary data through aggregation.
• Quality Assurance and Quality Control with SOP’s.
• Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.
• Create level of data confidence meters.
• Third party and aggregation of data for industrial data.
• Explain more on how data could be used in decision-making.
System Changes
• Customizing reports that need more graphics. Graphics tell a story.
• Need to provide an option of where the data is coming from and the option to state is the data reliable or not.
• Add a feedback loop to people entering the data. These validation flags will let the user know if they need to re-evaluate what they entered.
• The Re-TRAC system needs to be able to incorporate other state systems and databases.
• SOP’s need to be developed.
• Analytics in the system need to have a user guide of all the report capabilities. They also need methodologies of how the report was calculated.
• Consider reviewing SMP and removing questions that are difficult or do not provide value.
• Need to host more state events like this.
• The analytics need to have more year to year comparison options.
• Area to report policy changes.
• More marketing about the system and training to users to enter the data.
• Preview these questions without entering the system.
• The system should have a module or fact sheet for volumetric conversions.
• Enter data any time throughout the year.
• Need to provide direct feedback to those who submit comments in the feedback form.
• Would like more feedback from the system once the data has been submitted and updates of the QA/QC process.
• Need to ask for the costs of recovery for specific materials.
• The system needs to have the ability to automate the process of entering in the data.
• Need proxy or reliable approximation factors.
• System needs a flash interactive dashboard pulling from live data.
• References and information telling states how to use the data and make strategic decisions making based on what’s reported.
• Need to focus on data resiliency, economy, and jobs.
• Need to reorder the questions in the SMP.
• Option should be available of which data should be made public and which should be made private.
• There are 15 questions currently. Is that too many? Would it benefit from fewer and broader questions?
• What if ReTRAC created a system/survey for you to send out to your suppliers/counties/etc. to get consistent data back that you don’t have to manually enter?
How will States Use the Data?
• Strategic decision making.
• Industrial recruitment.
• What is practically achievable? Allows keeping goals realistic.
• Helps drives discussion.
• Figure out what is happening to lost materials.
• Help states drive electronic reporting.
• Identify issues to focus on and streamline data.
• Best way to do apples to apples comparison.
• Expand access through RecycleSearch.
• Analytics seem like a good tool to use.
• Respond quicker to Legislative requests.
• Advocate for the importance of data collection at the local and state levels.
• Informing policy-making and goal development.
• Help direct money where needed.
• Staffing and FTE analysis can be used for planning programs.
• Can use data for demonstration of facility needs.
• To track needs and assess what and how certain materials can be removed from the waste stream and back into a material stream.
• Can use data for demonstration of facility needs.