Association News

NWRA announces 2018 Hall of Fame inductees

The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has announced its 2018 Hall of Fame inductees. They are Scott Dols, CEO of Big Truck Rentals, Tampa, Florida; Steve Menoff, senior vice president of Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc., Pittsburgh; James Trevathan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Waste Management, Houston; and Larry Henk, president and CEO of Premier Waste Services, Phoenix.

The inductees were selected based on scores in five categories, including recognition in the industry as a founder, pioneer, visionary or icon; enduring legacy and impact of contributions to the industry for a minimum of 25 years; steadfast values such as integrity, respect, courage, mentorship, volunteerism and inclusiveness; inspirational leadership at a service provider or supplier or on issues important to the association; and active industry engagement and indisputable ambassador of the industry.

“We say this every year, but this year was the most challenging. We had incredible candidates to choose from—all are dedicated to our industry and have given so much of themselves to it. These four that we selected represent the very best in our industry. I offer my sincerest congratulations on their selection to the 2018 Hall of Fame,” Ben Harvey, chairman of the NWRA board of trustees, says.

The Hall of Fame inductees will be officially recognized at WasteExpo 2018 during the awards breakfast in April.

Dols was among the first contributors to the NWRA Women’s Council in 2005. Menoff is a pioneer in landfill design and engineering, the NWRA says. Trevathan has been an innovator and leader in efforts to improve safety and introduce the use of technology to improve productivity. Henk has previously served as the president and chief operating officer of Allied Waste Industries Inc., Phoenix. Under Henk’s guidance, the NWRA says Allied achieved aggressive growth by acquiring 245 companies from 1997-2001.

NAWTEC 2018: Discovering the power of waste

This spring, waste-to-energy (WTE) professionals, solid waste directors, landfill gas and biogas experts, and solid waste industry leaders will gather in one spot to take a fresh look at how the waste-to-energy industry is evolving. The North American Waste-to-Energy Conference (NAWTEC), coming to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, May 14-16, is a technical conference and tradeshow focusing on municipal waste-to-energy operational issues and policy, technology and research initiatives hosted in tandem by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Energy Recovery Council, Arlington, Virginia.

The conference will also feature tours of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA), which manages the municipal trash and recyclable materials from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, homes and businesses, as well as refuse for the city of Harrisburg and the surrounding communities. LCSWMA employs an integrated system for waste disposal and processing designed for landfill diversion and to generate enough energy to power one in five Lancaster County homes and businesses.

Session spotlight

The session titled “Assessing the impact of China’s National Sword on recycling in the U.S. and the implications for waste-to-energy” will highlight the recent customs inspection program that China launched in February, and the implications these restrictions will have on imported North American mixed paper and postconsumer plastics. The panel will share strategies for dealing with National Sword and introduce what to expect in the future in the waste-to-energy sector. Speakers in the session include David Biderman, executive director and CEO of SWANA and Harvey Gershman, president and co-founder of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., McLean, Virginia.

The session titled “Examining best practices in waste-to-energy facility operations” will teach WTE facility operators about cost-effective solutions for stabilizing heavy metals in MSW residues to cover the gap between the leachability of toxic elements observed in residues and the leachability toxicity limits as per EPA’s regulatory threshold. The proposed methods to treat the plant’s combustion residues can result in significant potential savings. Speakers for the session include Anil Mehrotra, plant engineer, Hampton/NASA Steam Plant, Hampton, Virginia, and Mark Maritato, environmental health and safety specialist, Ecomaine, Portland, Maine.

Established in 2003, the Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT) now represents more than half of the world’s population, show organizers say. Global WTERT research and development includes all methods of waste management with a special concentration on combustion with energy recovery from post-recycling municipal wastes.

The presentation titled “R&D to support waste-to-energy” will highlight progress made in 2017, as well as compare waste flow methodologies between Europe and the United States, evaluating where discrepancies arise.

Speakers participating in “R&D to support waste-to-energy” include Nickolas Themelis, director of the Earth Engineering Center at Columbia University in New York City; Athanasios Bourtsalas, adjunct professor in the Earth and Environmental Engineering department at Columbia University; Demetra Tsiamis, associate director at the Earth Engineering Center in City College of New York; Jeffrey LeBlanc of Louisiana State University, Lafayette; and Zhixiao Zhang of Hangzhou Dianzi University, China.

To learn more about the conference, visit NAWTEC.org.

SWANA announces 2018 Technical Division Awards winners

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, has announced the winners of the 2018 Technical Division Awards presented to SWANA members for outstanding professional achievements in solid waste industry sectors. Awards were presented on March 6 at the opening ceremony at SWANApalooza in Denver.

Marc Rogoff received the first Distinguished Individual Achievement Award (DIAA) from SWANA’s Collection and Transfer Technical Division. Rogoff was recognized for his support of integrated solid waste management planning, specifically his rate study work helping communities understand the financial requirements of maintaining their solid waste systems.

Tom Bilgri received the Landfill Gas and Biogas (LGB) Technical Division DIAA for overseeing the technical approaches and methodologies associated with the evaluation and design of landfill gas collection and control systems and beneficial-use facilities across North America.

The Landfill Gas and Biogas Technical Division recognized two Hall of Fame inductees this year, adding Jim Bier and David Penoyer to the list of honorees. SWANA says Bier worked to increase the knowledge base of the landfill gas and biogas industry, expand the opportunities for renewable fuels and electrical production and educate the public on the benefits of landfill gas use, while Penoyer has used his knowledge to standardize, develop and revolutionize system metrics, design, quality and implementation on a wide-scale during his time at SCS Engineers, Long Beach, California, and Republic Services, Phoenix.

The division offered the Eternal Flame Award to an industry member who has passed away. Tudor Williams was honored for his work on landfill gas engine technology in the 1970s and landfill gas-to-energy from the 1980s through his death.