©Ashley Cooper “Human induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption…the window of opportunity for action is brief and rapidly closing…ambitious, accelerated action is required…making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.”
- IPCC Working Group Assessment, 2022 -
Details here An Existential Threat: Climate Change & Global Warming
©Ashley Cooper Too often, policymakers propose grandiose “solutions” based on faulty premises and computer models that do not reflect real world conditions. This leads to delays, failures, and worst of all, a lack of confidence that anything meaningful can be done. But must it be this way? Details here A Flawed Response ©Ashley Cooper We identify specific real-world problems and craft workable real-world solutions that can be implemented immediately. Our team of international experts has many decades of experience and proven track records in environmental improvement. As a non-profit institute with no connections to industry, we are not beholden to special interests or the political process. It's time to stop pouring capital and taxpayer monies into a bottomless pit. We get things done. Details here The IeRM Difference ©Ashley Cooper Rising sea levels. Extreme weather. Warming oceans. Drought. Wildfires. All of these effects and more can be traced to climate change. We know this, yet our leaders are slow to act and reluctant to commit. As a result, we are running out of time. Details here An Existential Threat: Climate Change & Global Warming

Zero Municipal Solid Waste to Landfill by 2030

“Because of the serious and immediate threat that landfills pose to the climate and the environment, and because little is being done in the public sector to counter this threat, IeRM has made the elimination of landfilling municipal and similar reactive wastes by 2030 our top priority.”

Expertise Matters

IeRM is a team of leading experts and specialists from universities, institutes, authorities, and similar institutions. We bring our expertise and proven track record to educate, to correct false information, and to counter special interests, so that corrective actions protecting people, the environment, and the economy can be taken.

Education & Communication

Design campaigns for public and private entities on better approaches to reuse and recycling.

Assist corporations in communicating the importance of waste reduction to their employees.

Promote an Integrated waste management system.

Research &
Reporting

Measure the levels of methane emitted from regional landfills. Assess the true costs of landfilling.

Analyze the technical and economic characteristics of alternative approaches to waste handling.

Identify and quantify threats from landfill and sewage operations.

Policy Development
& Implementation

Provide assistance to public officials in the preparation of legislation regarding waste management.

Design, develop, implement and manage an integrated waste management system.

Testify and provide expert opinions on pending legislation and proposed programs.

to top

Alert..!

We lack, and urgently need accountability from corporations and legislators. Climate Change and Global Warming are happening at an exponential pace. There is much we can do but we do need your help:

As the media continue to report climate disasters, and the summer of 2023 is now the hottest ever experienced in the US, especially in the south, there is no question that the handwriting is on the wall: we are fast approaching the point of no return. Neither the government’s feeble efforts nor the halfhearted attempts at voluntary reductions have made much difference. It’s time to get serious.

As you know, waste management is a critical issue facing our planet today. Landfills generate methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than CO2. They also pollute our air, water, and soil; reduce land values; and contribute to the “disposable”
society responsible for the needless loss of valuable resources. Europe has been at the forefront of waste management innovation, and the European Union, a group of 27 countries, the has required all member countries/nation to phase out landfilling and move to an integrated waste management system. This already has resulted in millions of tons of CO2e reductions per year. 

The Institute for Energy and Resource Management (IeRM) is proposing a bold new initiative: the end of landfilling in the US, were we still landfill over 60% of our waste and the adoption of an integrated waste management system. Our climate plan for waste management will alter the composition of new materials so that they are more durable and more easily reused, greatly increase reuse and recycling of used materials, and reduce the need for virgin materials (including petroleum), saving millions of tons of CO2 and methane emissions from contributing to global warming.

We are confident that such a plan can be put in place by 2030, but it will not be easy, and we must start now. The public must feel comfortable that the concept will work as well as, if not better than, the system it will replace. Legislation must be written and passed, regulations prepared and adopted, infrastructure put in place. In addition, we will be opposed by the powerful waste management lobby, representing an industry that makes hundreds of millions of dollars per year by maintaining the status quo.

To get right to the point, we need your help. IeRM has the expertise and the experience to prepare and put an integrated waste management system into place, but we need financial backing to make this happen. Will you consider making a contribution to this effort, for your children’s, and their children’s, future?

Sincerely,

Philipp Schmidt-Pathmann, President and CEO