CEE Ph.D. Defense Announcement: Making Garbage Great Again - Classification and Network-Based Emissions Modeling of California's Waste Management and Recycling System

Abstract: This dissertation develops a data-driven framework to improve understanding of California’s waste and recycling system and its environmental impacts. Using statewide administrative data, it identifies how waste facilities actually function based on material flows, revealing important differences from regulatory classifications. The research further models inter-facility transportation, equipment activity and emissions associated with waste handling, recycling and disposal. By integrating facility classification, transportation modeling and landfill gas estimation, the work provides a system-level approach for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and waste management policy.