Co-Directors:  Michelle Leonard, Vice President, HDR, Inc. , CA                                   Michelle Nichols, Project Manager, SCS Engineers, CA       Vice Director: Josephine Valencia, Solid Waste Disposal Manager,                                   City of Durham - NC       Past Director: Pamela Gratton, Chief of Recycling and Administrative                                   Services, County of Fairfax, VA        SWANA Technical Programs Coordinator: Allison Burns Click here to Join the Division Now!

Welcome!
As one of the largest technical divisions at SWANA with over 500 members, there are always numerous opportunities to become involved and to benefit from the wealth of knowledge flowing from this active and dedicated group. The Division’s mission to balance environmental sustainability and the economic feasibility of minimizing municipal solid waste disposal is reflected throughout the Division’s many events, activities and focused technical content.

What We Do:
The Recycling and Special Waste Division actively works to provide and promote state-of-the-art approaches to improving management and profitability of waste reduction, recycling, composting and special waste programs. The Division is organized into several subgroups that address issues including Planning for the Annual Symposium, Development of Training Opportunities, Advocacy and Legislative Initiatives, and Planning and Preparing the Quarterly Newsletter.

SWANA's Thinking Outside the Blue Box - Recycling & Special Waste Conference
February 8-9, 2010, Charlotte, North Carolina

The goal of this conference is to drive innovation in recycling and special waste management programs that go above and beyond the traditional blue box programs that collect newspaper and containers from homes and residences. The goal is to highlight efforts and approaches that will be needed to take recycling and diversion to a higher level.

Recycling and Special Waste Training:
The Division is responsible for the development and periodic revision of several training courses related to the recycling & special waste industries. These include the certification courses: Managing Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Systems and Managing Composting Programs. Our newest addition is the Establishing an Electronics Recycling Program course that is available both online and in a classroom setting.

Legislative, Advocacy, and Rulemaking:
The Division regularly monitors, reviews and comments on current legislative activities that may have an impact on the operations of our subscribers. One of the Division’s most ambitious legislative initiatives is the Recycling Incentive Alliance, or RIA. The goal of RIA is to determine if there is support at the national level from organizations involved in recycling and to develop, promote and implement national legislation to gain economic incentives for recycling in communities. This is a multi-year effort that is still in its initial stages of development. We invite you to attend the meetings to learn more about how to participate. To review RIA’s mission and goals, download RIA’s Preliminary Design Considerations for a Financial Incentive to Increase Recycling. Please take the time to read this information and join our ListService to be kept up to date in the RIA as it progresses.

Quarterly Newsletter:
The Division’s quarterly E-Newsletter is emailed to all Division subscribers and highlights current industry trends, legislative and policy activities, as well as select special interest pieces. The newsletter also spotlights upcoming symposia and training events that may be of interest.

Awards:
The Recycling and Special Waste Division solicits and evaluates award nominations for their Composting Award, Recycling Award and Special Waste Award as part of SWANA’s Excellence Awards. These awards highlighting leaders in their field are both presented at WASTECON every year.

List Service:
For Division subscribers only, enjoy instant access to the Division ListService - your connection to the electronic division community. It is an ideal place to ask questions, make contacts, and enlarge your professional contact directory with a click!

Click here to Join the Division Now!

You are welcome to contact Allison Burns via email to get more information on the Division and to learn how you can participate!