SWANA to Present Haiti Earthquake Response at WASTECON 2010

SWANA to Present Haiti Earthquake Response at WASTECON 2010

Silver Spring - The Solid Waste Association of North American (SWANA) will present its recommendations for improving solid waste collection operations in Haiti in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in a newly added technical session at WASTECON 2010 in Boston. The session will take place on August 17, 2010 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at WASTECON 2010.

In March 2010 SWANA received a request from the Service Metropolitain de Collecte des Residus Solides (SMCRS) in Haiti for assistance in dealing with the solid waste problems occurring following the earthquake. Solid wastes were piling up in the streets and canals posing serious sanitation and public health problems and SMCRS personnel working 24 hours a day were unable to keep up with the large quantities of wastes being generated. The SMCRS is the state-appointed agency to collect and dispose of solid waste in the greater Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, which includes eight cities and a population of 2.5 million.

SWANA responded by establishing a SWANA Haiti Response Team comprised of volunteer SWANA members from SWANA's Collection Technical Division who met with representatives of the SMCRS and developed a position paper that documents Haiti's equipment and service needs. A copy of that paper can be downloaded here.

SMCRS representatives and SWANA's Haiti Response Team will participate in a technical session at WASTECON 2010 and will discuss the project and the recommendations of the team. Haiti represenatives will include:

• Germain Paulemon, General Director SMCRS,
• Stanley Delinois, Engineer Haiti Department of Planification,
• Patrick Charles, Interpreter and
• Carl-Henry Vielot, Engineering Director of Landfill.

SWANA would like to thank Waste Connections and Golder Associates for their financial assistance in sponsoring the travel expenses for the Haiti representatives.

The members of the SWANA Haiti Response Team that have been invited to participate in the WASTECON Haiti session are:

• Victoria Garland, Solid Waste Director - Charlotte, NC,
• Bill Del Vecchio, Director of Solid Waste and Recycling - Georgetown University,
• John Pittman, Assistant Solid Waste Director - Clearwater, FL,
• Rusty Cole , Waste Connections, LLC Operations Assistant Manager - Pierce County, WA
• Wayman J. Pearson, President - WJ Pearson Inc, And
• Jeremy O'Brien, Director of Applied Research, SWANA

For more information on this session, visit www.WASTECON.org or contact Jeremy O'Brien, SWANA staff liaison, at jobrien@swana.org.

Effective Municipal Partnerships

Good Morning!

With less than a month until WASTECON 2010, we’re continuing to bring you the latest updates and exclusive interviews with our speakers and faculty members. WASTECON 2010 provides you with the opportunity to learn from your peers and with your peers through sessions developed and taught by solid waste professionals. Today’s post features Rosemary Nolan, Solid Waste Coordinator for the Tri Town Alliance and a Boston native!

Her session on Effective Municipal Partnerships, which happens to be one of the bonus sessions offered this year, will take place on Wednesday, August 18 at 9:30 a.m.

What can attendees expect to take away from your session/course?

Attendees will be able to see how 3 municipalities with different levels of service were able to work together and complete a regional bid process on solid waste services while maintaining their autonomy after the bid process.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

The session is important to solid waste professionals because it is based on an actual regional experience that has the supporting data of its success in saving millions of dollars over the life of the contract.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?

The partnering of WASTECON and APWA enhances the learning experience while providing a more effective use of time management for solid waste professional.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?

I am most looking forward to the ongoing learning experience from my peers by attending WASTECON.

Hotels and tours are filling up fast! Remember to register by July 28th to receive a $200 discount on your registration.

Landfill Development Opportunities

TGIF Everyone!

For today’s post, we spoke with Todd Feland, Public Works Director for the City of Grand Forks, ND, on his session, “When a Solid Waste Landfill Development Opportunity Comes Around Again.” Todd will be presenting on Wednesday, August 18th.

Todd, what can attendees expect to take away from your session?

The message for Public Works professionals involved in establishing a new Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill or other Public Works facility project is to dedicate the necessary time and energy to complete the task, maintain relationships with potentially impacted citizens, keep people (including the Mayor, City Council, City staff, and regulators) believing in the ultimate vision, personally lead each step of the process, take responsibility for the outcome, learn from setbacks along the way, and have the authority to close the deal.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

The message is important for Public Works and Solid Waste professionals because of ongoing and increasing service level demand with a corresponding increasing scarcity of resources for Public Works and Solid Waste professionals. At the same time, citizens have a declining belief and lack of trust that government and other large institutions can meet service level demands and solve societal challenges. The message is important to understand and validate the current public policy arena, and further to examine methods, opportunities, and strategies to make good and constructive public policy decisions.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?

The challenges between Public Works and Solid Waste professionals are similar and more resource and knowledge sharing will benefit both professionals. The WASTECON and APWA groups will help grow one another and each can learn from the other professional “silo”. Further integration between the two groups will make both professional associations stronger and better informed for all members.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?

I am looking forward to seeing how well the collocation between WASTECON and APWA goes this year in Boston.

WASTECON is rapidly approaching and the excitement is building. Four hotels have completely filled up and as a result, we added two new hotels for attendees. Along with the new hotel additions, we’ve decided to extend the $200 registration discount until July 28th. Don’t delay any longer; register now so you can maximize your savings for this one-of-a-kind event.

Interview with Boston Local: Sumner Martinson

Hello readers,

We here at SWANA are so excited to be holding WASTECON in Boston this year. Apparently, we aren’t the only ones! One of our speakers and city locals, Sumner Martinson of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, tells us about his special “Composting Session” and why he is looking forward to this year’s collocated event.

Sumner will be speaking at the special “Composting Session” hosted by Biocycle with Christine Beling, Project Engineer for USEPA, on Tuesday, August 17th.

Sumner, what can attendees expect to take away from your session?

Attendees will take away an understanding of the implementation of the Massachusetts organics diversion and recycling strategy, and how it was applied to the largest convention center on the East Coast. Recycling data and a case study will be presented on organics diversion, as well as, other materials diverted from the BCEC waste stream to recycling.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

This session will provide information and insight on how to implement organic and recycling diversion programs at convention center venues, along with the challenges, solutions, and benefits that come with the implementation of these programs.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?

Generally, public works personnel are not WASTECON attendees, though they are often integral in developing recycling strategies and programs. Having them participate will increase awareness of these programs and will help expand existing programs.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?

As a state employee who is not usually able to attend a WASTECON conference, this year’s location provides me with an opportunity to participate and benefit from the exposure of a wide variety of people and information. Also, it's an honor for Boston to host this event!

Filled with rich history and dynamic experiences, Boston is the perfect home for WASTECON 2010! The Massachusetts Chapter of SWANA has been hard at work preparing to welcome attendees and guests with a homerun of a Monday Night Networking Event at Fenway Park, Home of the Boston Red Sox. Attendees will have commanding views of the playing field, where Ted William’s longest home run landed, while enjoying live music, dancing, games and raffles accompanied by a ballpark menu including beer, wine and soft drinks. Don’t miss out, register now at www.WASTECON.org.

Managing Transfer Station Systems at WASTECON

Hello from Silver Spring!

We hope that everyone is staying cool and hydrated despite the summer heat. We also hope that by now, you've registered for WASTECON 2010. This year's event is taking place next month in Boston, where the clam chowder is delicious and the baseball team is actually pretty good :) Have I mentioned that the Massachusetts Chapter of SWANA is giving away free pairs of tickets to Red Sox vs. Angels games at the Monday Night Networking Event?

Along with fun networking events, WASTECON 2010 will provide quality education and training with courses such as Managing Transfer Station Systems. Don Birnesser, who is a longtime SWANA Faculty Member and one of the instructors of this course, tells us more in our recent interview with him.

Don, what can attendees expect to take away from your course?

Attendees can expect to gain a comprehensive understanding of how to plan, site, design, permit, operate and maintain transfer stations. The course will emphasize the importance of effective communication with employees, customers, managers, regulatory officials, as well as the general public.

Why is this course important to solid waste professionals?

As fuel costs have increased in recent years and disposal sites continue to become more distant, transferring solid waste has become an integral component of solid waste systems, both public and private sector, to increase system efficiency and minimize impacts to the environment.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?

System operators rely upon the same equipment as public works departments to operate and maintain their transfer stations.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?

The sharing of new ideas between the attendees in the classroom and during the field trip is invaluable. Even though I have taught the course many times before, I always come away learning new angles as well.

Register now to get industry leading training with 10 courses and a new 1 day workshop developed and taught by solid waste professionals.

Landfill Reuse

Happy July 1st Everyone,

We are now only 46 days away from WASTECON!! As the event gets closer, we will continue to bring you the latest updates and exclusive interviews with our speakers and faculty members. Today's post features an interview with W. Michael Brinchek, Project Engineer at CDM.

Michael will be presenting a session on Tuesday, August 17th from 9:00 am - 10 am on Landfill Reuse.

Michael, what can attendees expect to take away from your session?

My session will discuss the possibilities for long term development of a solid waste facility beyond disposal or treatment. Although the presentation will focus on the transformation of a landfill into a park, there are opportunities for redevelopment, and as land becomes more valuable and sustainability becomes more mainstream, the need to create a long-term asset will continue to grow.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

It challenges the solid waste professional to look beyond the disposal or treatment unit and create a long term development master plan that will be a long-lasting resource for the community.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?

APWA brings together top level Directors, Department Heads and Executives to share innovative ideas and explore new ideas for sustainability in public works. I believe this presentation exemplifies this idea by taking a closed landfill facility and creating a park for public use in the heart of one of our regions fastest growing communities.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?

By collocating these two events, the different perspectives from both organizations can be shared and hopefully the transfer of knowledge between these two groups can be a benefit everyone.

This is just one of over 70 sessions at this year's event. Register now for access to the collocated show floor, an opening reception featuring a live and local blues band, 200+ dynamic speakers and a great opportunity to network with other solid waste professionals.

3 Days to a Better Landfill with SWANA's MOLO Training

Greetings fellow Solid Waste Professionals!

Things are crazy here at the Silver Spring office as we gear up for WASTECON 2010. Luckily, we were still able to catch up with Christopher Campman, one of our speakers and faculty members for this year's WASTECON. Chris will be teaching the Management of Landfill Operations (MOLO) course from Sunday, Aug. 15 - Tuesday, Aug. 17th, as well as, presenting a session on "Making Your Solid Waste Operation Sustainable."

Chris, what can attendees expect to take away from the MOLO course?

I believe the MOLO training course provides a great opportunity for landfill personnel to interact with their peers and learn from others' experience both good and bad. Interaction with the class and discussion of various experiences is in many cases the best training one can get. If a MOLO student learns one thing, it is that making a decision based on experience and training should move the facility forward in a timely matter.

WASTECON offers the opportunity for MOLO students to learn, then visit first hand with vendors that provide the services and equipment that managers utilize everyday in the operations.

What are you most looking forward to at this year's WASTECON?

I look forward to WASTECON as an opportunity and a learning experience. I get to visit old friends in the business and establish new relationships with vendors and attendees and learn about new products and experiences for others.

Join us (and Chris!) in Boston for what's sure to be a great event. Register now.

"Public Private Partnerships" at WASTECON 2010

WASTECON 2010 may have a whole new look but attendees can still expect the quality education and networking they’ve come to expect from SWANA events. This year, WASTECON is jam-packed with over 200 technical sessions on industry hot topics such as “Public Private Partnerships” on Wednesday. August 18th.

SWANA caught up with Harold Alvord, Director of Public Works, City of Norwalk, one of the speakers of this session.

Harold, what can attendees expect to take away from your session?
Private waste management firms will understand that there are significant business opportunities in the public sector – in areas that were once solely the domain of public sector employees. Public sector managers will understand that they can successfully break out of the long term comfort level rut of remaining with public or quasi-public entities in solving waste disposal issues.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?
This session will demonstrate that old paradigms can be changed and that there can be significant benefits from thinking a little outside the box.

How do you think WASTECON attendees will benefit from the collocation with the American Public Works Association?
The collocation doubles the bang for the buck. In the current economic environment, where governments are curtailing travel and conferences, it provides an opportunity to learn/experience more in a single trip. Many may have otherwise had to choose between one event or the other.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s WASTECON?
I am most looking forward to meeting and gaining ideas from others.

Join Harold to explore innovative ways in seeking public-private partnerships on Wednesday, August 18th, from 9:30 – 11:30 am. Register now at www.WASTECON.org.

High Energy from Orlando

It was great to see so many of you at NAWTEC last week in Orlando! There's some exciting things happening in the world of Waste-to-Energy and Alternative Technologies and SWANA members are out in front paving the way! The economic and political climate is rich with new developments. There's a lot of activity happening in the WTE Technical Division as well as in SWANA's Applied Research Foundation's WTE Group.

It's not too late for you to get involved! If you're already a member of the WTE Technical Division, contact us to participate in our upcoming projects. If you're not a division member yet, click Join Us! Your organization may also want to subscribe and participate in the Applied Research Foundation's WTE Group. For just 1 penny per ton of solid waste processed, you can become an ARF Subscriber.

Let me know what you and your organization are working on in terms of Waste to Energy by commenting below.

Thanks,

Meri Beth Wojtaszek
Director of Education & Marketing

Report from Western Regional Symposium

It’s spring…and that means it’s time for lots of SWANA Chapter events.

We just received a report on the Western Regional Symposium from Steve Strait, the Central California Sierra Chapter International Board Representative.

"The International Board meeting was up in Banff on the Saturday and Sunday right before the Western Regional Symposium (WRS) so I was rushing around a little. I flew from Calgary to Fresno on Monday and then drove over to St. Louis Obispo, CA (SLO) Monday evening so I missed the opening reception in the Trade Show area. I hear though that the reception, and associated food (e.g. shrimp) was a hit.

I was in charge of the Technical Sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday. We had 28 excellent presentations--compared to past years having only had 18 to 19 presentations. We left plenty of time for each presentation and Q&A period which made for a more casual session. People had plenty of time to ask questions, and a lot of the sessions turned into a nice discussion period.

Our highlight on Wednesday morning was the keynote address by Lanny Hickman on the history and greening of the solid waste industry; it kept nicely with our theme of "Staying Green with Less Green".

Our Wednesday night banquet was very well attended and involved food pairing with the award winning wines from the local California Coast Opolo Winery.

We had golf and trap shooting on Monday and on Thursday we toured the local Cold Canyon Landfill. Overall, I think it was one of our best WRSs that we have put on at SLO."

Sounds like WRS was an awesome event! Thanks for sharing this with everyone, Steve. If you were in SLO for the symposium, post your thoughts and comments about the event below. If you have any pictures from WRS that you would like to share, send them to marketing@swana.org.

We want to hear from your chapter events. Send us your reports and pictures to post!

An Interview with Dr. Jean Bogner, this Year's Lawrence Lecturer

I recently had an opportunity to chat with this year’s Lawrence Lecturer, Dr. Jean Bogner, about waste, energy and climate. Dr. Bogner served as the coordinating lead author of the Waste Management Chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report “Mitigation of Climate Change”. The IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. Jean Bogner is the President of Landfills +, Inc., and a Research Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago.

SWANA - Dr. Bogner, thru your own studies and your work on the IPCC report, how have you seen waste impact energy and climate?

Dr. Bogner - There are two things to emphasize with respect to climate and energy. First is that waste is actually a small contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Less than three percent of global anthropogenic emissions are caused by the waste sector. On the other hand, there are also significant opportunities for greenhouse gas mitigation from the waste sector with respect to landfill gas recovery and to activities which either reduce greenhouse gas generation or reduce waste generation such as recycling and waste minimization. Secondly, energy from waste (via landfill gas utilization, waste-to-energy, or use of anaerobic digester biogas) is an important renewable energy resource.

SWANA - How would you recommend a solid waste facility to mitigate their emissions?

Dr. Bogner - Well of course for landfills, landfill gas recovery and utilization, which has been a fully commercial technology now for over thirty years, is a good strategy. Incineration reduces greenhouse gas generation. Also, waste minimization and recycling activities reduce waste generation in the first place. So, I think the “take home” message is that we must preserve all our waste management options and sensibly apply greenhouse gas mitigation strategies that best fit local situations and regulatory guidelines.

SWANA - Do you foresee any new mitigation techniques which are starting to evolve in the industry?

Dr. Bogner - One technique is landfill biocovers, which is a strategy to design and construct landfill covers so that methane is oxidized at high rates before it can be emitted to the atmosphere. The oxidation is accomplished by methanotrophic bacteria which are aerobic microorganisms that naturally live in the soil.

SWANA - How would you encourage those who are collecting the waste to mitigate their emissions?

Dr. Bogner - On the waste collection side there could be opportunities to reduce transport distances, reduce redundant routes, and improve fuel efficiencies.

SWANA - How would you recommend that a facility that is working with either landfill gas or incineration portray the benefits of these technologies to the general public?

Dr. Bogner - I think the tremendous benefits are on the energy side. Landfill gas is roughly fifty percent methane. So there are significant energy benefits to recovering and using the landfill methane for direct use in gas-fired broilers or onsite electrical generation, or for upgrading to a substitute natural gas. Incineration is the pathway where you get the most energy benefit from solid waste through direct combustion.

SWANA - As this years Lawrence lecturer for WASTECON in Tampa, what is one thing that you hope that attendees will really take away from your presentation?

Dr. Bogner - Well as I mentioned at the beginning of this interview, I think the fact that the waste factor is a small contributor to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions but there are significant opportunities within the sector for cost-effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the sector is a small part of the problem but can be a larger part of the solution.

End

Don’t miss Dr. Bogner’s presentation at this year’s WASTECON Lawrence Lecturer Session, Wednesday October 22 at 9:30am as we continue to explore the connection between energy, climate and solid waste.

Member thoughts:
How is your facility mitigating its emissions?
What other mitigating techniques do you see coming down the pike?
Post your comments here.

Around the Bin Is Back

Around the Bin is Back and Better Than Ever – at least that’s the goal – but we need your help! While the blog will begin by focusing on WASTECON, please feel free to discuss anything related to solid waste. The blog is for you and should cover the information that you want and/or need.

The idea of the blog is to give you an outlet to communicate with the other 8,000+ members of SWANA without leaving your home or office. SWANA staff will also be posting news, clips and information on WASTECON 2008 in Tampa to get the conversation started!

So join the blog today by e-mailing marketing@swana.org and share your thoughts! You can:

• Provide links to articles, presentations and topics for discussion
• Submit videos, photos, podcasts or other web jewels
• Participate in SWANA interviews
• Comment on other posts
• Try something new!

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

P.S. Stay on top of all the latest blog action by subscribing under the Subscribe Now section in the upper right hand column. We have email subscription and RSS Feed (more on RSS in future posts).