Excellence in Research: A Spatiotemporal Sustainability Method for Post-Disaster Vegetative Debris Management

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Storms generate large volumes of vegetative debris, which often require significant resources for timely collection and disposal. This abundant debris also holds great potential for recycling and reuse, diverting it from landfills and creating value in end-of-life materials. However, it is critical to collect and process the debris promptly (before significant decomposition occurs) to maximize its value. Unfortunately, current debris management practices overlook the varying material conditions of vegetative debris in different storm-affected areas, limiting the sustainable use of these valuable resources. To address these challenges, the Principal Investigators (PIs) of this this Excellence in Research (EiR) project propose to study and understand the changing organic conditions of storm vegetative debris over time and space and integrate this knowledge into a data-driven planning framework for post-storm debris management. By considering the evolving condition of vegetative debris across storm-affected areas, the proposed planning method will optimize debris collection resource allocation to enhance recycling and reuse of collected materials. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the potential improvement of post-disaster debris planning, waste reduction, and the creation of valuable end-of-life materials. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of two graduate students as well as mentoring of a post-doctoral scholar at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and mentoring of a graduate student at California Polytechnic State University.Large quantities of vegetative debris require significant resources for timely management. Vegetative holds substantial potential for recycling and reuse, reducing landfill waste and creating value in end-of-life materials. However, the decomposition of organic materials poses challenges to achieving sustainable utilization. Given the spatial variability due to storage conditions and geographic distribution, as well as the temporal changes during collection, temporary storage, and final use or disposal, it is crucial to consider both spatial and temporal aspects in informed sustainable disaster waste management planning. To address this challenge, the Principal Investigators (PIs) of this project propose to investigate and unravel the characteristics and evolution of storm-related vegetative debris in space and time, integrating this understanding into data-driven debris management planning to enhance recycling, reuse, and advance sustainable waste management practices. The specific research objectives are to 1) identify the temporal evolution of vegetative debris and model the dynamic decomposition potential of uncollected debris; 2) develop an agent-based modeling (ABM) simulation model of debris collection operations and compare the spatially extended temporal performance-driven approach with the temporal-only approach using the simulation model and material assessment model; and 3) develop a novel spatial-temporal sustainability-based planning methodology for debris recovery. The successful completion of this project could lead to a paradigm shift in post-disaster planning, transitioning from the conventional time-based framework to a novel extended time- and space-based framework to enable more effective and sustainable debris management. To implement the education and training goals of the project, the PIs plan to engage with the Educating Engineering Students Innovatively (EESI) program at FAMU to enhance learning of students underrepresented in STEM. In addition, the PIs plan to engage with local agencies and contractors to make research products more relevant to management practicesThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.