EPA¿s intended uses of the information collected through this ICR are: ¿1) identify and recognize outstanding waste reduction achievements by individual organizations; 2) compile aggregate results that indicate overall accomplishments of WasteWise partners; 3) identify cost-effective waste reduction strategies to share with other organizations; and 4) identify topics on which to develop assistance and information efforts.¿
This information collection is approved for 3 years in order to allow EPA to develop a program evaluation method for the WasteWise program, consistent with all relevant OMB guidance, including OMB¿s Standards and Guidelines for Statistical Survey and OMB¿s Guidance on Agency Survey and Statistical Information Collections, and OMB's program evaluation guidance (e.g., evaluation under the Program Assessment Tool). EPA should also take into account the peer review comments the agency received on the last proposed method. In drafting the method, EPA must address the following issues: appropriate baseline, appropriate entity boundary for reporting, conditions for additionality, self-selection bias, and low response rates from the partners and low item response rates from the partners. Before resubmitting the method, EPA must subject the program evaluation protocol to an external peer review. Such peer review shall comport with standards for peer review of influential scientific information as found in the OMB Peer Review Bulletin. EPA shall share with OMB its draft charge to the peer reviewers, all comments received from the peer reviewers, and the Agency¿s response to the comments of the peer reviewers. When the agency submits the next submission, EPA must provide the program evaluation method, the external peer review comments, the agency¿s response to the peer review comments, and an explanation of the revisions adopted in the information collection to address past OMB concerns and the peer review comments.
If the agency decides to aggregate and disseminate aggregated results information, such dissemination must be accompanied by the following caveat: ¿This figure represents the total amount of waste reduction, waste prevention, recycling and buy-recycled efforts reported by those WasteWise partners who submitted annual reports to EPA for 20XX. EPA is not claiming that all of the waste reduction, waste prevention, recycling and buy-recycled efforts achieved by WasteWise partners are attributable to the WasteWise program. EPA is working on a method to better quantify the impact of WasteWise on business behavior and waste reduction.¿
When the agency submits the next ICR for renewal, the agency must provide the following information or their equivalent if the forms are amended:
Overall response rate from the participants;
Item non-response rates for each question in Section II of the Registration Form and Sections II through IV in the Assessment Form;
Descriptive statistics (including but not limited to mean, median, mode) of the responses for each question in Section II of the Registration Form and Sections II through IV in the Assessment Form.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
06/30/2011
36 Months From Approved
06/30/2008
1,875
0
1,625
70,350
0
56,700
0
0
0
EPA needs to collect this information to evaluate the success of the voluntary WasteWise program and the progress of members participating in the program. The information is used to recognize members' achievements and identify successful waste reduction strategies to share with others. Members are predominantly businesses, as well as some non-profits, trade associations, institutions, and federal, state, local and tribal governments.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
1698ss07.doc
EPA's WasteWise Program (Private Sector)