I AM SWANA Blog

SAFETY.CAT.COM

2010-08-23T10:17:00.001-04:00

While on the show floor Tuesday, Caterpillar provided details about free customer safety resources for equipment operators to promote safety to everyone on or around heavy equipment.

Cat’s website, SAFETY.CAT.COM provides Cat product specific safety training materials and education as well as general industry and jobsite safety information. If you don’t use Caterpillar products, the safety education and training is general and useful for most equipment and work environments.

The information is universal in most cases and can be used for general safety on the work-site, said Tara Cox, customer safety services manager with Caterpillar.

The site provides more than 6,000 free training and safety resources. And, it also offers 17 safety basics videos approximately 3-to-7 minutes in length.

Safety video topics include personal protective equipment, avoiding fatigue, and avoiding slips and falls. Much of the training is based on common OSHA violations. The website provides resources for each topic listed below.

OSHA 2009 Top Violations
1. Scaffolding
2. Fall Protection
3. Hazard Communication
4. Respiratory Protection
5. Control of Hazards Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
6. Ladders
7. Powered Industrial Trucks
8. Electric, Wiring methods
9. Electrical Systems Design
10. Fall Protection Training Requirements

The training and services is designed to reduce injury and keep safety on the front of everyone’s minds.

Technical Session: Innovative Energy Production

2010-08-17T14:21:00.002-04:00

During Monday afternoon’s session on biosolid drying, Greg Grant with Ventura Regional Sanitation District in California shared his success on managing biosolids and generating green energy.

Greg discussed the organization’s need to find a better solution to manage biosolids. Biosolids are organic materials resulting from highly processed waste water treatment facilities. Greg said many counties are banning land disposal options.

The drying operation was the first of its kind. VRSD accept biosolids from 5 waste water treatment facilities at a 2.2 acre facility within a 343-acre landfill site. They don’t use electric or gas to operate the facility – they convert the landfill gas on-site and generate electricity.

VRSD use (2) 80-ton Fenton batch dryers to reduce the volume of the biosolids. They manage 8,000 tons of biosolids each month. They reclaim the water from process and use it for dust control on the facility grounds. Once the material has been dried, it can be used as alternate daily cover for landfills or fertilizer.

VRSD has one of the lowest tipping fee rates in California.

Cost Breakdown on managing biosolids:
Land Disposal: $40-$60 per ton – Disadvantage: Prohibited or restricted
Composting: $45-$65 per ton – Disadvantage: High odor benefit
Drying (other): $75-$100 per ton – Disadvantage: Energy source is natural gas
VRSD Drying: $42 per ton – Advantage: Energy and disposal stable

Techical Program: Planning for Sustainability

2010-08-15T14:48:00.002-04:00

John Williams, SVP, National Director – Sustainable Development with HDR Engineering, Inc. shared his work with the Clinton Global Action Network.
John’s presentation, Rethinking Waste and Its Management highlighted key points to work together on waste issues. He stated the action network is a non-partisan, nonprofit initiative. And, this is an initiative that is not a local or domestic issue – it a global issue.

The initiative based on 4 principles – World health, education, poverty and environment and energy. Many of these issues are hard to tackle by one country, but can be solved when working together.

The network’s global vision: The elimination of the concept of waste as we know it.

John shared a story while he traveled to Brazil – He witnessed people wearing bathing suits without shoes to pick materials out of the dump in Rio. We want to help by proving boots or other items including gloves to improve the safety and health, John said. Many times, it is women and children picking through the waste in the landfill.

5 pillars of Waste (Focus of Action Network Efforts)
▪ Rethink the entire waste stream (producer innovation)
▪ Encourage less resource consumption (consumer literacy)
▪ Expand the recovery of post-recycled materials (technology innovation)
▪ Reduce risk for people and the environment in developing countries (women and informal economy)
▪ Reduce net waste tonnage landfilled per capita

Parting message, we can do more with the waste in the landfill by creating a new vision by eliminating the concept of waste as we know it today.

Awards Brunch

2010-08-15T14:45:00.002-04:00

Many excellent solid waste professionals were recognized during Sunday’s Awards brunch. SWANA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes technically and economically responsible municipal solid waste management programs that also protect the public health and the environment.

Award highlights include:
In the Communication, Education & Marketing Excellence Awards category – The gold award winner was North Shore Recycling Program, British Columbia.
Al Lynch accepted the award for North Shore. They were recognized for their composting education efforts. The organization developed 7 How-to composting videos to educate residents, which provided composting basics. North Shore reported a 25 percent increase in composting efforts. Who says composting education can’t be interesting? Keep up the great work!

Life member award went to Fredrick C. Rice. Fred is the president of Soiltec, Inc. The Life Member award includes the individual’s length of service and commitment to SWANA, service to their chapter and support to other chapters. Fred’s long-term involvement in his field has been in landfill gas control, recovery and utilization.
Fred was on the team that developed the world’s first Landfill Methane Recovery Facility at Palos Verdes, California in 1974. Fred started with a small engineering firm in 1974 and had no idea what it would become. After sharing his appreciation for the award, he said he had a few more years to go.

Think you have an award winning program or facility? Consider submitting your application for the 2011 Excellence Awards Program. Submit your application by March 31, 2011. Awards will be presented at the 2011 WASTECON in Nashville, TN.
To download a nomination form for 2011, visit www.awards.SWANA.org.

Opening Reception

2010-08-15T08:57:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Beantown! First, I would love to say that I had a wonderful time at the Opening Reception WASTECON 2010. It feels great reconnecting with old friends and making new friends in the waste, recycling and sustainability industry!

I engaged in a great conversation during the opening reception with Richard Ludt, a charimatic interior demolition destruction waste management administrator with Interior Removal Specialist, In. (IRS) in South Gate, CA - which is located approximately 10 miles from Los Angeles.

When asked what Richard planned to accomplish during the conference, he wanted to share his companies unique process of interior demolition that specializes in complete recycling opportunities. Not only did I talk with folks from the United States, I spoke with an attendee from Canada. It makes me believe that we're all in this together.

First-time attendee, Todd Smith in sales/engineering with Xebec Adsorption, Inc. - a biogas upgrading and gas drying company from Vancouver is looking forward to meeting established natural gas professionals. He was excited to attend one of the first conference's providing biogas information.

The highlight of the evening was talking to the incoming president Sara Bixby. Sara works for the South Central Iowa Solid Waste Agency in Tracy, Iowa. Sara feels she has big shoes to fill with the previous presidents' contributions to the organization.

Already working on ideas with the SWANA board, Sara wishes to revisit services SWANA provides to its members and evaluate the services to ensure they meet the needs of the next generation. Sara discussed the need to meet the needs of upcoming technology-based generation.

She knows it will take a longer committment that the one year she will hold the title as president, but is confident great changes are on the horizon! Sara's energy and enthusiam will definitely bring a lot of great ideas this coming year.

Enjoy the conference and please come back to read more of our conference coverage!

SWANA to Present Haiti Earthquake Response at WASTECON 2010

2010-08-04T11:27:00.001-04:00

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.

Waste & Recyclables with Dr. Adam Read

2010-08-03T12:04:00.007-04:00

Good Afternoon Everyone,

WASTECON2010 is a little more than a week away! As we reach the final stretch of preparing for this exciting event, we continue to bring you the latest updates and special interviews with this year’s speakers.

Today’s post features Dr. Adam Read, AEA’s Knowledge Leader for Waste Management & Resource Efficiency. Dr. Read will be presenting two sessions on Sunday, August 15: Using Door to Door Advisory Teams to Help The Public Take Responsibility for Their Waste & Recyclables at 2:00 p.m., and The Role of PR and Stakeholder Partnerships in Positively Changing Recycling Performance & Behaviour in the UK at 3:30 p.m.

Adam, what can attendees expect to take away from your session/course?

Attendees will gain insight on how to effectively plan and use outreach programs (in particular door to door campaigns) to build community ownership of waste strategies and new services and to ensure that new infrastructure is working effectively from day 1.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

We are no longer an industry of engineers; We must understand how to engage effectively with target audiences and design services & solutions that meet customer requirements. Without appreciation of public needs, new recycling programs will always fail to deliver.

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

This is an excellent opportunity for two of the U.S.’s largest associations and trade shows to work more closely together on a topic that is growing in importance – just look at the climate change agenda and you can see how we are all facing a resources revolution. As a speaker, I am looking forward to meeting people from both associations who represent my core target audience – municipal waste managers – as they are being tasked with saving the environment, protecting communities and delivering to budget – a tough ask and I think I can help.

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

I am looking forward to the breadth of speakers, exhibitors and attendees. I am also looking forward to gaining a better understanding of the US waste management sector and getting to share some of my own personal experiences from Europe. Learning is a beautiful thing.

Well-said, Dr. Read! WASTECON 2010 is almost here. Are you ready? Make sure to check WASTECON.org for the most up-to-date information on speakers and schedules.

Space Heating with LFG

2010-07-22T12:07:00.004-04:00

Greetings Readers,

Can you believe it? It's already the last week of July! Time is flying by this summer as we gear up for WASTECON 2010.

For today’s post, we spoke with Michael Cook, Civil Engineer for R.W. Beck. His session on “Space Heating with LFG: Small Project, Big Savings” will discuss the technology selections, procedures and equipment of applicable space heating projects and will take place on Tuesday, August 17 at 9:00 a.m.

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

Attendees will take away knowledge on developing landfill gas (LFG) reuse projects that utilize LFG for on-site operations at smaller landfills typically unable to support a LFG to energy projects as well as LFG collection and control systems at smaller landfills that would otherwise be unable to support a collection and control system.

Why is this session/training important to solid waste professionals?

With greenhouse gas rules and regulations, smaller landfills that are near or meet the minimum values requiring greenhouse gas controls need to look at ways to efficiently install a LFG control system and reuse it on site in an effort to reduce other costs.

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

Since sustainability is on everyone's mind these days, I think it is very important to involve all aspects of public works and to work together to progress the goals and objectives of sustainability as a collective effort on all fronts.

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

I’m looking forward to meeting other professionals in the industry and several of the other technical sessions.

WASTECON is less than 2 weeks away! We’ve extended the $200 registration discount but only until this upcoming Monday, August 2nd. Don’t delay any longer; register now.

Creating a Blue Bin Buzz

2010-07-22T11:33:00.004-04:00

Happy Thursday Everyone,

The weekend (and WASTECON 2010) is just around the corner! It’s been hectic around the SWANA office but that won’t stop us from bringing you the latest updates and interviews.

Our post today features Cathie Chavez-Morris, Project Manager for the Multifamily Residential Recycling Program and Environmental Specialist II for the City of Los Angeles. Her session on “Creating a Blue Bin Buzz: Effective Outreach Tools” will take place on Monday, August 16 at 2:00 p.m.

Cathie, what can attendees expect to take away from your session/course?

The attendees will take away a greater understanding of how to use social media marketing tools to engage the public. We will cover Facebook, Twitter, Googlemaps and U-Stream. I will also give some information on redeveloping print materials based on surveys.

Why is this session/training important to solid waste professionals?

A Pew Research Center report identified that one-third of Baby Boomers (46-64 years old) use text messaging daily, have a social networking profile, and mainly get their news from the internet. These tools aren't just for reaching out to Generation X and Generation Y. Pew Research Center, "Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next", February 2010

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

This is a great opportunity to further emphasize the importance of private and public partnerships related to waste resources.

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

I’m very interested in the alternative technology and organic waste workshops. Plus, the Fenway mixer sounds like loads of fun! Go Red Sox!

With a passion for Recycling (and the Red Sox), Cathie’s session is sure to be interesting and informative! Don’t miss out on this—or any of our many sessions taking place at WASTECON 2010. Register now to save $200.

Effective Municipal Partnerships

2010-07-20T11:38:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-16T13:27:00.011-04:00

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.

Senate Considers Moving Towards Energy Only Package

2010-07-15T10:23:00.001-04:00

Shannon Crawford, Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Programs, SWANA

It appears as though in the current political climate (no pun intended) the only form of climate change legislation that has a chance of passing would be that with a strong focus on energy provisions and less focus on a cap-and-trade system. The language in the recently released Kerry-Lieberman draft (which was to be the vehicle for climate change legislation this year) includes significant incentives for offshore oil drilling and provisions that would open up new tracts of land to drilling. After the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico these provisions are extremely unlikely to pass and must be abandoned in order for any legislation to move forward.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has called on the chairpersons of various committees to begin examining a number of bills that can be combined into one large energy package. The bills under consideration include: S.1462, American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009; S.3442, Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010; S.3495, Promoting Electric Vehicles Act of 2010. All of these bills include incentives to promote clean energy such as renewable energy and a more efficient usage of power through electric vehicle and energy efficient measures.

In an effort to address the crisis in the Gulf these bills would be combined with S.3516, Outer Continental Shelf Reform Act of 2010. This legislation would place much stricter standards on offshore oil drilling operations.

A positive of this legislation for the solid waste industry is that S.1462 includes a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). This RPS would allow both landfill gas and waste-to-energy to qualify as renewable sources of energy to help states meet their mandated quota under the bill. The

Senate is expected to begin markups on the package later this week.

For any questions please contact me directly at 240.494.2241 or scrawford@swana.org.

Upgrading Your Transfer Station

2010-07-13T14:48:00.003-04:00

Greetings Everyone,

We are about a month away from WASTECON 2010! As we prepare for this colossal event, we will continue to bring you the latest updates – including special interviews with this year’s speakers.

For today’s post, we spoke with Bob Zorbaugh, Senior Manager of Operations for the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management. Bob’s session on “The Redevelopment and Revitalization of a Transfer Station Complex” will take place on Monday, August 16th from 2-3 pm.

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

Attendees at my session will come away with Transfer Station design ideas to maximize operational efficiencies for handling waste, as well as, ideas for developing a modern transfer facility with a limited site foot print.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

This session could save solid waste professionals the pain of learning from their mistakes in transfer station design, by experiencing lessons learned from our project.

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

The collocation with APWA will allow attendees to check out much more equipment on the show floor outside of waste handling equipment –specifically, equipment that is utilized to maintain waste disposal sites such as snow removal equipment, storm water infrastructure and roadway maintenance.

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

I'm looking forward to checking out the APWA portion of the show, technical tours and the networking event at Fenway Park.

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.

Interview with Boston Local: Sumner Martinson

2010-07-09T12:08:00.004-04:00

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

2010-07-07T13:42:00.004-04:00

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

2010-07-01T12:17:00.004-04:00

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

2010-06-29T11:26:00.006-04:00

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.

Collection Case Studies

2010-06-24T11:04:00.006-04:00

WASTECON 2010 is going to be bigger than ever in Boston with over 200 speakers and an extra two days of bonus technical sessions, including a special session on “Collection Case Studies,” on Tuesday, August 17th.

Vince Trimboli, Community Relations Supervisor, City of Boise Public Works Department, tells us what attendees can learn from this special session and why he is looking forward to this year’s collocated event.

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

An understanding of what outreach resources a medium sized city needs to accomplish a very successful rollout of a brand new trash and recycling program, while getting as much bang for your buck. We changed from a blue bin/single stream system to a wheeled cart/no-sort system and for trash we went from one price/essentially put whatever you want at the curb to a variable rate/wheeled trash cart. Our post roll out survey showed 90-plus percent approval for both programs. While we didn't reinvent the wheel with most of our ideas, we combined several approaches successfully. To get the best use of our money, we built a program/brand which will serve us for many years to come.

Why is this session important to solid waste professionals?

This will help communities who are looking to make changes, large or small, with their trash and recycling programs. I think we had some pretty good ideas and they are very replicable.

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

It will be an opportunity to learn about how the two industries blend from how important proper solid waste protection is to water quality to how the approaches to market each industry can be adapted and used by both.

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

I'm looking forward to learning from the best practical thinkers in our industry and using the knowledge to continue to make Boise such a great place to live, work and play.

Boston is a great place for friends and family! Bring your spouse or guests to the conference and enjoy one of our networking events together. This year, we are excited to announce Fenway Park, Home of the Boston Red Sox, as the venue for our Monday Night Networking Event. 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.

"Public Private Partnerships" at WASTECON 2010

2010-06-22T08:48:00.003-04:00

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

2010-05-21T09:56:00.001-04:00

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

2010-04-26T10:24:00.009-04:00

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!

EPA Faces Significant Challenges to Its Proposed Rulemakings to Control GHGs

2010-02-18T17:10:00.002-05:00

EPA Faces Significant Challenges to Its Proposed Rulemakings to Control GHGs
Shannon Crawford, Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Programs

Next month, EPA is scheduled to finalize their Light Duty Vehicle Standard, a ruling whose name oversimplifies the massive impact it will have on the regulated community. These standards would require new vehicles to have carbon dioxide emissions below 250 grams per year. According to EPA, this will set the precedent for more extensive regulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) under other parts of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Previously, EPA had not set standards for GHG, however in Supreme Court case, Massachusetts vs. EPA, the court ruled GHGs are air pollutants. In order to determine whether or not they could be regulated by EPA, the Court ruled EPA must determine if they pose a danger to public health and welfare. In December of last year, EPA responded to this by issuing the endangerment finding, formally stating GHGs are a danger to public health and welfare. This finding provides EPA with the legal basis to promulgate the vehicle standards next month.

SWANA has been tracking these vehicle rulings very closely because they set the precedent for other rulings, which will impact solid waste operations. EPA has stated that once they promulgate emissions standards for GHGs, these gases will immediately be subject to other provisions of the CAA. This interpretation would subject solid waste facilities such as landfills and waste-to-energy plants to Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) provisions in which facilities that exceed certain thresholds of various pollutants must show they are using the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to reduce these emissions. GHGs would also be subject to Title V permitting requirements. Many of the landfills affected have never previously been subjected to regulation under the CAA. The triggering thresholds for PSD and Title V, which are set at levels for criteria or hazardous air pollutants, would subject hundreds of thousands of facilities to these regulations if GHGs are regulated at the same thresholds.

Although EPA is insistent upon their course, they have received challenges to each action that lead them on the path to using the CAA to regulate GHGs.

Challenges to the Endangerment Finding

Senator Murkowski of Alaska has been a major opponent of EPA using CAA provisions to regulate GHG. On January 21, she introduced a “Resolution of Disapproval” in an attempt to nullify the endangerment finding. Nearly forty senators support the resolution including three Democrats. The odds of the resolution being approved are unlikely since it would require a Presidential signature, however Senator Murkowski is hoping that its sends a strong message to EPA that there is considerable Congressional opposition to what they are doing.

This is not the Alaskan Senator’s first attempt at reigning in EPA. Last September Senator Murkowski attempted to add an amendment to an Interior-EPA Spending bill that would have prevented EPA from controlling GHG emissions from stationary sources for one year.

Challenges to the Light Duty Vehicle Standard

During the open comment period on the light duty vehicle standard, EPA received many challenges to their authority to proceed with such a ruling. One such challenge was issued by a group of associations representing a large sector of the industries which will eventually be affected by these rules: the American Chemistry Council, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the American Meat Institute, the Corn Refiners Association and the National Oilseed Processors Association.

In their letter these associations stated that EPA did not consider the effects the light duty vehicle rule would have on stationary combustion sources and EPA’s failure to do so is “capricious and arbitrary”. The Supreme Court has ruled in previous cases that rulings are “arbitrary and capricious” if the agency “entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem”. The associations believe that EPA has failed to fully assess and analyze the effects of this ruling outside the motor vehicle sector although EPA is aware that its impact is not limited to this sector.

An additional argument made in the Associations’ letter concerns EPA’s view that issuance of the motor vehicle rule automatically triggers PSD and Title V applicability for GHGs. The Associations believe that this is incorrect and state that the automatic triggering of PSD provisions is not the result of the plain meaning of the CAA, but instead the result of EPA’s interpretations.

Challenges to the Tailoring Rule

Under its so-called Tailoring Rule, EPA proposed to develop what they consider more reasonable PSD and Title V thresholds for GHGs. In our comment letter to EPA regarding this ruling, we did not comment on EPA’s legal authority to regulate GHG using CAA provisions. Instead we offered analyses that we believe showed that EPA is misinterpreting the congressional intent of the provisions. When Congress originally developed the PSD and Title V permits provisions of the CAA, they were meant to apply only to “major sources”. Under EPA’s proposal, facilities that are not “major” would be regulated. Doing a comparison of combustion units currently operating within PSD regulations for covered pollutants can yield comparable CO2e emissions of up to 770,000 tons per year (tpy), more than 30 times the 25,000 tpy threshold EPA has proposed as “major”.

Future Actions

EPA has stated that they believe that cap and trade legislation such as passed by the House of Representatives offers a better approach to control of GHGs than regulation under the CAA. However because of the Massachusetts vs. EPA Supreme Court case they believe they are obliged to move forward with these rulemakings. While many organizations may not agree, it is important to take these proposals seriously and we will continue to track these rulemakings and provide updates as they occur to our membership.

Please contact me directly with any questions.

Shannon Crawford
Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Programs
scrawford@swana.org
240.494.2241 - direct

SWANA Announces North American Carbon Credit Summit

2010-02-01T14:32:00.002-05:00

*Summit To Be Held April 14, 2010 in Reno, Nevada in Conjunction with April Events

Silver Spring, MD - The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has announced that it will host the North American Carbon Credit Summit on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 in Reno, Nevada. The one day event will provide the most current information available on the constantly evolving carbon credit market as it applies to municipal solid waste professionals.

Developed to address the growing interest SWANA has observed in carbon credit markets, the Summit will present five sessions including an overview of the environmental commodities markets and legislative and regulatory developments as well as individual case studies. Presenters at the Summit will include representatives from organizations involved in credit verification, project consulting, greenhouse gas inventories, RECs and trading platforms, among others.

The Summit will be held in conjunction with SWANA’s 15th Annual Landfill Symposium and Planning & Management Conference, which will take place Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Individuals who register for the North American Carbon Credit Summit will also receive complimentary registration to the Landfill Symposium and Planning & Management Conference. For more information on the Summit, visit http://lfpm.SWANA.org/Carbon.

Use of Social Marketing and Social Media to Promote Recycling in NC on a Shoestring Budget

2010-01-25T10:25:00.005-05:00

Note: The article below was submitted by Kelley Dennings for posting on this blog.

My agency, the North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (DPPEA), utilizes three social marketing campaigns. The Recycle Guys campaign was adopted from South Carolina in 2000. We recommend recycling coordinators use it for Pre-K through 8th grade. In 2005, the Division created RE3.org via an Environmental Protection Agency grant. The audience for RE3.org is high schoolers, college students and 20 something adults. Lastly, we are embarking on a new campaign called Recycle More NC. It will focus on educating 35-55 year olds.

The communication strategies for each campaign vary slightly based on the audience. Recycle Guys are used on children’s cable television channels and through the school system. RE3.org utilizes some cable television ads, social media, athletic events and radio advertisements. The Recycle More NC campaign will involve some cable television, newspaper, radio and truck advertisements.

We have been using social media for the RE3.org campaign for over three years. Our blog, YouTube and MySpace account were all created in 2006. In 2007 we began using Facebook and Flickr. Our newest craze is now Twitter and LinkedIn. Join me at SWANA's Thinking Outside the Blue Box Conference for an overview of these social media components, our lessons learned, tracking performance and a how-to on getting started.

Kelley Dennings

Education and Outreach Project Manager
NC DENR, Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance
1639 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1639
919-355-8102
http://www.RecycleGuys.org, http://www.RE3.org

2010-01-19T12:24:00.005-05:00

SWANA Comments on EPA’s Tailoring Rule
Shannon Crawford, Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Programs

On Wednesday, December 23, 2009, SWANA submitted comments to EPA on their Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule. This proposal is targeted at facilities with emissions over 25,000 tons of CO2e annually and would require them to obtain permits that would demonstrate they are using the Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) to minimize GHG emissions.

Previously GHG were not subject to provisions of the Clean Air Act. However, EPA holds that GHG will be upon promulgation of the light duty vehicle rule, anticipated in the spring of this year, “regulated pollutants”, and as such would be subject to PSD and Title V requirements. We agree that if EPA were to move forward with this rulemaking, a “tailoring” of the thresholds for each of these programs must be performed to avoid the unintended consequence of subjecting a large number of small sources to the regimens of PSD and Title V.

In our letter we chose not to comment on EPA’s interpretation of their legal authority. We are aware that there are a number of challenges to this interpretation, which contain very convincing arguments that EPA may be over-stepping their legal boundaries. While we did not address this issue, our comments should not be misconstrued as acceptance of EPA’s interpretation of their legal authority.

We have a number of concerns with EPA’s proposal as currently written with our most significant being: 1) the alternative thresholds proposed by EPA for the first phase are too low and do not represent “major sources” and 2) the development of BACT must occur with the involvement of the solid waste industry.

We believe that the proposed threshold level of 25,000 tpy CO2e represents smaller sources and is not keeping with Congressional intent for PSD and Title V to be “major source” programs. There is no basis for such a low threshold and EPA has not presented enough rationale for choosing 25,000 tpy. EPA has chosen this threshold based on the number of facilities they believe will be impacted instead of using the Congressional intent of this provision to only regulate “major sources”.

Utilizing equivalent criteria pollutants from combustion sources yields CO2 emissions ranging from 100,000 to over 700,000 tpy CO2. Utilizing EPA’s existing PSD major source threshold for NMOCs, established for landfills, yields an equivalent CO2 level over 745,000 MTCO2e. Using these approaches as guidance, SWANA recommended that EPA provide an alternative threshold that truly represents a “major source”.

Workgroups are currently developing presumptive BACTs. BACT for CO2e are not well-established and therefore the solid waste industry must be represented on these workgroups. EPA themselves have said that landfills are one of the largest effected sectors, therefore it is inappropriate to not include representatives from this industry to participate in the development of BACT. This workgroup alone should not develop presumptive BACT; they should be promulgated as regulations with notice and opportunity for comment.

Additionally, there is the potential for unfair treatment of waste-to-energy under this ruling. Waste-to-energy operations would be affected during the second phase of the rule, the presumptive BACT implementation. Most plants operate with a Title V permit, so they would not need to apply for one during the initial phase of the rule. However these operations would be affected when EPA attempts to impose BACT on their GHG emissions. Waste-to-energy operations provide an essential public service and have been shown to be a net reducer of GHG on a life cycle basis. Additionally their emissions are largely biogenic. We strongly believe that raising the threshold and differentiating between anthropogenic and biogenic will help reduce the potential unfair treatment this proposed rule would have on this form of renewable energy.

To read our full letter to EPA please click here.

For more information on the Tailoring Rule, please see our previous memo dated October 7, 2009.

Please contact me directly with any questions.

Shannon Crawford
Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Programs
240.494.2241 - direct