WASTECON 2008 DRAWS THOUSANDS TO TAMPA

October 23, 2008 (Tampa, Fl.) – The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) bids Tampa farewell as yet another successful WASTECON comes to a close. Thousands of solid waste professionals turned out for the three day conference and exhibition held at the Tampa Convention Center.

“I would like to thank everyone that made this year’s WASTECON an outstanding success, ” said John H. Skinner, Ph.D., Executive Director and CEO of SWANA. “We appreciate the hard work of the Florida Sunshine Chapter, the excellent papers by all of the speakers and the support from the many sponsors and exhibitors.”

While the conference officially began on Tuesday, the SWANA Training Center opened on Sunday with nine courses being offered, four of which were newly updated. These training courses, taught by leaders in the industry, give solid waste professionals the opportunity to earn or maintain their SWANA Certification in eight disciplines. This year, more than 330 individuals participated in a training course and 218 completed a certification exam.

The conference opened on Tuesday with a breakfast featuring Quiet Riot, a duo of two brothers, Bill and David Mettler, who engaged and humored the attendees with comedy, storytelling, music and sound effects. A parade of SWANA Chapter flags and a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony followed, officially marking the opening of the Exhibit Hall, where more than 200 vendors had their products and services on display.

Other highlights of the conference included a Nobel Peace Prize winning session with Lawrence Lecturer Jean Bogner, Ph.D., and Keynote speaker Roberta Fernandez discussing climate change issues and what people, at work and at home, can do to mitigate the effects. The Wednesday Night Networking Event, hosted by the Florida Sunshine Chapter of SWANA, brought a large crowd to Busch Gardens Africa and the annual Awards Luncheon honored six individuals and 24 facilities that have demonstrated innovation and excellence in solid waste management.

The conference also included more than 25 technical sessions, the majority of which focused on the energy, climate and solid waste connection. SWANA will continue to concentrate on environmental issues pertaining to solid waste and provide professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to move their organizations forward in environmentally and economically sound ways. WASTECON 2009, to be held in Long Beach, California Sept. 22-24, 2009, will expand and build on this year’s conference and highlight any changes and advancements in the industry and will have a special focus on “The Power of Solid Waste.”

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SWANA'S 2009 OFFICERS ANNOUNCED AT WASTECON

October 22, 2008 (Tampa, Fl.)— The International Board of Directors of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) gathered today with the membership of the Association for the Annual Business Meeting, where the 2009 officers were announced. Laurie Batchelder Adams of LBA Associates, who now holds the title of past president, officially handed over the gavel to Carl Newby of Arlington County Department of Environmental Services, SWANA's new International President.

"I am greatly honored to be able to serve with so many other solid waste professionals from all across North America," said Carl Newby. "We plan to continue working to make livable and sustainable communities using environmentally and economically sound solid waste practices."

John Hadfield assumed the position of International Vice President, while Sara Bixby of South Central Iowa Solid Waste Agency became the International Treasurer and James Warner of Lancaster County Solid Waste Authority became the new International Secretary.

"The enthusiasm these newly elected officers have for our cause is exciting to see," said John H. Skinner, Ph.D., Executive Director and CEO of SWANA. "They are geared up and ready to carry out their plans for SWANA and I know all four of them are going to do a great job this upcoming year."

The Annual Business Meeting was followed by the WASTECON 2008 Lawrence Lecture and Keynote Presentations. The Lawrence Lecturer, Dr. Jean Bogner, was the coordinating lead author of the waste management chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) report on "Mitigation of Climate Change." The Keynote Speaker, Roberta Fernandez, president and founder of Planet Partnership, was one of the first people selected and trained by former vice president, Al Gore, to present his acclaimed climate change message, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Both the IPCC and Al Gore were honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2007 "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

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SWANA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR FUTURE WASTECONS

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) announced at the opening of WASTECON 2008 that it has selected the dates and locations for WASTECONS 2011, 2012 and 2014. The Executive Committee of SWANA's International Board of Directors approved three venues at their Sunday Oct. 19 meeting., which take three upcoming WASTECONs to the Gaylord Hotels, a hotel chain that prides itself on being the "only hotel brand that focuses solely on meetings."

WASTECON 2011, to be held August 23-25, 2011 will be at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. The Gaylord National in Washington, DC will be the site of WASTECON 2012, bringing WASTECON close to SWANA's national office located in Silver Spring, Maryland. The convention is scheduled for August 15-17, 2012. WASTECON 2014 will be August 26-28, 2014 at the Gaylord Texas in Dallas. Site locations for WASTECON 2013 are still being reviewed.

"By negotiating a three-year package with the Gaylord Hotels we were able to secure very affordable hotel rates for our attendees and exhibitors at three first- class facilities in exciting locations," said John H. Skinner, Ph.D. SWANA Executive director and CEO. "These full-service hotels provide guest rooms, meeting and exhibit space, restaurants and recreational facilities all under one roof," Skinner added.

SWANA and over 3000 solid waste professionals are currently participating in WASTECON 2008 through Thursday, October 23 at the Tampa Bay Convention Center. Early indications predict that this will be another successful event and attendees are excited about this year's focus on the Energy, Climate and Waste Connection.

SWANA CALLS FOR INCREASED WASTE SCREENING IN RESPONSE TO EPA'S UPDATED DEFINITION OF SOLID WASTE

With the issuance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule regarding the updated definition of solid waste, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has advised its members of the increased importance of waste screening practices at municipal solid waste facilities. While the goal of the rule is to encourage recycling of hazardous materials, the USEPA estimates that 1.5 million tons of hazardous materials would be excluded from the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act’s hazardous waste regulations. This could cause a potential loophole through which hazardous materials may escape regulation finding their way into municipal solid waste facilities, thus placing an increased importance on waste screening practices.

“Municipal solid waste managers need to know where their wastes are coming from and SWANA strongly encourages more vigilant practices to detect and screen out prohibited wastes,” said John H. Skinner, SWANA Executive Director and CEO.

After publication of the revised EPA rule, Skinner issued a cautionary notice to the International Board of Directors, the governing body of the Association. He also indicated that SWANA is updating its Waste Screening Training Course to provide improved guidance for SWANA members. This revised course will be finished by the end of this calendar year.

The full version of the notice can be found online at http://swana.org/www/Portals/Officers/SWANA_Notice_Regarding_EPA_Ruling.pdf

SWANA ANNOUNCES 2008 INTERNATIONAL ROAD-E-O WINNERS

Silver Spring – The 2008 SWANA International Road-E-O was held on September 27, 2008, in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky. Hosted by the Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter, the Road-E-O brought out 94 truck drivers, landfill equipment operators and mechanics to compete in tests of precision and skill. SWANA is pleased to announce the first, second and third place awards for each of the events along with the Top Gun (highest overall scorers) in the landfill and truck events.

2008 SWANA International Road-E-O Winners:

Truck Events

Tractor Trailer
1st Place Mark Tyler, Florida
2nd Place: Dale West, North Carolina
3rd Place: Rodney Valverde, New Mexico

Articulated Side Loader
1st Place: Ian Millar, Arkansas
2nd Place: Daniel Kirk, Kentucky
3rd Place: Ruben Riveria, Arizona

Rolloff
1st Place and Top Gun: Charles Bays, Kentucky
2nd Place: Michael Wilkerson, Texas
3rd Place: Gary Wooten, Kentucky

Front End Loader
1st Place: Keith Sizemore, Kentucky
2nd Place: Jamie Gaddie, Kentucky
3rd Place: Jesse Trevino, Arizona

Rear end Loader
1st Place: Ron Lilly, Arizona
2nd Place: Michael Scarth, Kansas
3rd Place: John Johnson, Arkansas

Mechanic-Truck
1st Place: Dennis Rigby, Florida
2nd Place: David Hill, North Carolina
3rd Place: Danny Boles, North Carolina

Landfill Equipment Events

Loader
1st Place: Michael Aldridge, Kentucky
2nd Place: Steve Morales, Arizona
3rd Place: Matt Horan, New Jersey

Compactor
1st Place: Nathaniel Yazzie, Arizona
2nd Place: Elmer Van Hoorebeke, Texas
3rd Place: David Martinez, New Mexico

Dozer
1st Place and Top Gun: Brian Scott, North Carolina
2nd Place: Larry Tinney, Texas
3rd Place: Daniel Chapman, Kentucky

Articulated Truck
1st Place: Mike Likes, Kentucky
2nd Place: Christopher King, Texas
3rd Place: Gary Zingaro, New Jersey

SWANA’s International Road-E-O is an annual event designed to recognize and reward the talents and skills of the men and women who collect waste, drive trucks and operate and maintain equipment. To be invited to the International Road-E-O, contestants must first be nominated by their employers for demonstrating outstanding safety and performance records on the job. They then must compete and win in a Regional Road-E-O, ensuring that the competitors at the international level really are the best of the best. The competition is sponsored each year by one of SWANA’s 45 Chapters and held in the state of the sponsoring chapter.