The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) recently incorporated Great Forest’s volume to weight (VTW) data into their updated industry standard for calculating waste and recycling weights from volume. These conversions can now be used across all industries to help standardize how waste and recycling is tracked. This is the first time an acceptable standard is available for calculating waste and recycling, and its implications are far reaching.
Volume to weight (VTW) conversions are used by many businesses as part of their public accounting (based on GRI or CSR reporting). But unlike other utilities they report on, there isn’t a standard conversion they can turn to when reporting waste.
“By consolidating and updating their conversions, the EPA is bringing us one step closer to a true industry standard for VTW that is accepted and used by all. This will result in more accurate data, better benchmarking, and will give businesses the tools to make more informed decisions. Great Forest is proud to be a part of this key process,” says Great Forest CEO Ross Guberman.
Great Forest began tackling the problem of accurate waste and recycling calculations a few years ago, publishing our findings at a conference in 2013.