The Power of Women: Breaking Barriers in Solid Waste Management and Recycling

Historically, men have dominated many areas of the solid waste management industry. Women have frequently been underrepresented in garbage collection, working at landfills, and other roles throughout the decades. However, women have made impressive strides in waste management. They bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the table. From leading recycling programs to managing landfill operations, women are breaking barriers and changing the face of the waste management industry. Let’s explore the challenges and opportunities that women face in waste management, as well as the contributions they are making to create a more sustainable future for all.

Delila Khaled

Delila Khaled, Founder of impaXus, is a member of the Women of Waste Task Force at the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). Last year, she was selected as a Safer End of Engineered Life Champion with the UK Royal Academy of Engineering.

“In 2005, I started my own company specifically to focus on innovations that better serve the urban poor through urban improvement and innovative financing solutions,” Khaled told MSW Management. This eventually led her to the waste management realm. “I work a lot in the gender and inclusion space—how we address systems and improve development by making it more inclusive for the poor and for women. That ended up driving my career and the evolution of my technical expertise because I came out of that community development space.”

Khaled designed the first government-funded activity in the U.S. to address plastic pollution in oceans. She was also a co-author of the first-ever global gender analysis of the waste management sector, and she was able to present the findings at the ISWA World Congress.

Now is a great time for women to enter the waste management industry, Khaled believes. “I work with such a diverse group of women—everybody from civil engineers to anthropologists, journalists, environmental scientists, activists… That’s the cool thing about women in the industry. We come from such diverse skill sets and backgrounds but have a shared passion. I think it’s really encouraging.”

In some parts of the world, Khaled has observed that women in waste and recycling have more difficulty advancing in the private sector. “Waste management is one of the most male-dominated industries in the world,” she stated. “We know women will face a variety of challenges in terms of advancing in leadership, in terms of taking on technical roles versus administrative and human resources roles. We see this in Latin America, in Africa, in southeast Asia for women who are coming up in the private sector where those challenges exist and are inherent already.”

She underscored that those challenges exist in the U.S. as well, referencing data from the past few years that shows only 2% of leadership positions in the waste management sector in the U.S. are occupied by women.

“The notion that this is a man’s industry and we’ll have the token women at the table, that’s what happens to a lot of women in the waste management industry,” Khaled said. “A token women cannot sufficiently impact change. I think in the technical space—and this is not unique to waste management—there’s a notion that the more scientific and technical work is done by men. For women to assert themselves in that space, they really have to come with the credentials.”

Sonya Betker

Sonya Betker is a Sustainability Consultant at Stantec who has been involved in the industry for many years. “I worked for my uncle in high school on a garbage route in the summers,” she shared with MSW Management. After going into the military, she worked for a waste broker managing shopping center waste and recycling. She has had a lot of experience working on the food waste sector of the industry. 

“I’ve learned to look at the big picture of waste and recycling,” Betker said. “I like to look for commodities within markets and help with that circularity—really reframing waste as a resource.” 

Sustainability and circularity are a big part of her work at Stantec. “It’s an exciting team that I’m with,” she commented. 

Obstacles that women may face depend on what part of the waste management and recycling industry they’re in, Betker noted. In her first job working for a waste broker, she said she needed to work harder to be taken seriously—“to let them know that I know what I’m talking about.”

She has noticed more women in leadership roles both within Stantec and in the larger waste industry. “The previous president of SWANA was female,” she stated. “It’s come a long way. I’m seeing more women in different parts of the industry like recycling and sustainability, and a lot of corporate sustainability officers I’ve seen are female.”

Perseverance is perhaps the most important factor to be successful as a woman in this space, Betker shared. “It’s such a vast industry—it goes from sustainability to engineering and design,” she said. “It’s an amazing industry for women. People think waste and recycling or designing landfills isn’t glamorous. If we reframe waste as a resource, landfills will become extremely important places.”

She advises those beginning a career in waste, “Do what you like, and have fun with it. If it’s a passion, do it—don’t worry what other people think.”

Brenda Haney

Brenda Haney is the Director of Solid Waste for the City of Lubbock, Texas. She has about 25–30 years of experience in the solid waste industry, first beginning as a consultant, and has been in municipal government for 23 years. After starting out on the disposal side of things in her early municipal career, she was promoted and took over the entire solid waste department. 

She shared that she did face obstacles as a woman studying civil engineering before starting her career. There were very few women in engineering, and she recalls hearing things like, “You’re taking up a spot for a boy,” “You shouldn’t be here,” and “You’re not going to be able to cut it in math.”

Despite these challenges, Haney said, “I was obstinate and determined that I wanted to be an engineer. It didn’t matter what anybody said, I was going to fight the good fight.”

“I had the great fortune to work for a large national firm in my local office,” she remarked. “There were a couple of senior women that had kind of charted the way for a woman engineer in the office. They were great role models for me to follow, very technically competent, well-spoken, committed, and dedicated—good role models to follow.”

Today, there are fewer obstacles for women in the solid waste industry. “It’s changed—there are a lot more women in the room today than when I started,” Haney explained. “I had a different perspective because I came in as an engineer, then to a supervisory-level position. I wasn’t on the front lines or at a lower level, so that gave me a position of authority. That helped me and kind of paved my way.”

Her advice for those considering a career in solid waste management or recycling? “Don’t let anybody else tell you what you can and can’t do. You're your only limiting factor.”

It’s also helpful to find someone that can serve as a mentor. Women in the industry are very supportive of one another, Haney remarked, and they want to support the next generation of women as well. “In some industries, women can tear one other down for their own success,” she said.

Terese Bordeau 

Terese Bordeau is an Environmental Health Specialist for Ramsey County, Minnesota. She currently works in Solid & Hazardous Waste Compliance, and she has worked for Ramsey County since 2016.

Although she has experienced obstacles throughout her career, she said, “I like to think I'm more resilient, patient, and gritty as a result.” One of the challenges she faced was working during her pregnancy, in addition to returning to work and balancing her responsibilities as a parent. “My temporary reassignment to a COVID-19 team was quite intense, as it was for many folks helping with the pandemic response,” she added.

Bordeau believes that it’s important for women in the waste and recycling industry to take time for themselves. She advises others to “create healthy boundaries at work, communicate them, and gently push back on others who might cross them.”

More women have stepped into leadership roles throughout her career, she noted. “For instance, my boss, my boss’s boss, and my boss’s boss’s boss…and even her boss… are all smart, hardworking women. I admire them.”

She is grateful to have the support she needs from other women in the industry. The trailblazers and the women who are kind and inquisitive are a source of inspiration, she said. “I appreciate my colleagues, both women and men, for their various perspectives and experiences. My job has had its challenges, and I have felt very supported along the way.”

Nancy Lo

Nancy Lo is a Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist for the Hennepin County Department of Environment and Energy in Minnesota. Her career began in journalism, and she has been in the waste industry for about 12 years. “We give grants to businesses to do recycling and composting,” she shared with MSW Management. “I also coordinate our Fix-It clinic program.”

The program includes a monthly event where volunteers assist members of the community in fixing their broken items such as vacuums or lamps. “It gets at prevention, not just diversion of waste,” Lo said. “Volunteers help you learn how to do it. You’re actively involved, you’re learning, and you can go home and probably fix your own stuff—and certainly feel more empowered.”

Her favorite part of the work she does is providing assistance to people. “It’s really great to be able to give people the help they need: give them grants and free signs or labels for recycling and composting bins, or doing presentations. And all of it is at no charge.”

In Lo’s experience within the waste industry, she has observed that women are welcomed and treated as equals. Although she has not personally experienced any biases due to her gender, “I’ve heard from colleagues who have felt overlooked.” 

She has seen more women working on the collection trucks in Minneapolis. “I think it used to be very much male-dominated. Now, there are women working for the City of Minneapolis doing the collection of composting, recycling, and garbage.”

She has also noticed more women in leadership positions. “I think as time goes on, we’re going to have more equality,” she said. “Women in general seem to really care about the environment. The waste industry deals a lot with the environmental impacts of things, and that kind of draws women to waste as a career.”

Lo advises women to consider a career in waste and recycling if they have a passion for the work. “You’ll meet a lot of other people who care very deeply as well,” she remarked. “There’s a real sense of camaraderie and shared commitment, which is awesome.”

Lorizelda Stoeller

Lorizelda Stoeller is the Deputy Public Works Director for the City of Phoenix’s solid waste utility. She started out as an unpaid intern with the City while she was earning her master’s degree and needed to gain some experience. She then completed a management internship with the city manager’s office, which introduced her to local government.

“When the opportunity came to return to solid waste, I started in administration as a management assistant, then grew to an admin assistant, working behind the scenes to keep the operation running,” said Stoeller. Then, she found the opportunity to pivot to the operations side of the industry. “I became an operations manager: I managed all of the drivers, the foremen, superintendents, everybody involved with the collection of residential solid waste for the City of Phoenix.”

They have over 250 operators and 300 pieces of equipment to collect from 400,000 residences weekly. “It’s 512 square miles—it’s a lot of land to cover,” Stoeller noted. 

“Now, I am the deputy director for our customer engagement services,” she shared. “This side is responsible for anything front-facing with customers—call center, accounting and billing for solid waste, and code enforcement. I see myself as an advocate, getting the tools and resources they need, and making their jobs easier and safer.”

Stoeller mentioned that it can be intimidating to enter the solid waste industry. “I am typically the only woman in a room, especially when I’m talking to a group of drivers or operators,” she said. 

“It took some time, but luckily my team here in Phoenix has always been very respectful. I’ve never felt any type of discrimination. I can command the room, too. Even though I’m not a big guy. I’m 5’2”. You don’t see people like me in this role very often.”

Sheida Sahandy 

Sheida R. Sahandy is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Encina, a company that transforms end-of-life plastics into reusable circular chemicals. She comes from a legal and policy background, having worked on environmental solutions at both the municipal and state levels.

“Our efforts [at Encina] are trying to find a way of diverting the plastics that are difficult to recycle from incineration and landfill. We put them through this process that allows us to take apart the resins, revert them to their original constituent building blocks, and allow them to be used over and over again. It’s a case study for the circular economy to show that it can work and be a good complement to mechanical recycling.” 

Sahandy explained, “People are starting to get that the waste industry is so much bigger and more important than we’ve thought about in the past. Now, when you’re talking about the waste industry, we’re talking about resource management, the impact of landfills, incineration, impacts on water and air quality.”

The expanding waste industry has brought more women into the field, she added—particularly with things like municipal resource conservation programs and nonprofit organizations dealing with recycling. “It’s going to be really interesting watching those dynamics when it comes to the future of women in this industry. I think it’s going to change really quickly,” she said.

Her advice to women starting out in the waste and recycling industry is to keep in mind the outcome that you are pursuing. “Think about the needs of that goal or mission, and do the best job you can in fulfilling that. Those not persuaded by your competence or your ability to contribute, you don’t want to worry about them anyway.”

Sahandy also commented that Encina has many women in technical leadership roles. Diversity in an organization enhances its problem-solving abilities and provides valuable perspectives. “I think it gives an organization so much more resilience and an ability to react to situations more productively and efficiently than if you have a lot of people with a very similar perspective.”

Caroline Cooper 

Caroline Cooper is the vice president of Global Sensor Systems Inc., where she has worked for more than four years. The company manufactures an automatic braking system to reduce backing accidents and increase safety for collection vehicles.

“I think the biggest obstacle women face in the waste/recycling industry is a perceived lack of representation, particularly in technical or leadership roles,” she told MSW Management. “When I'm onboarding lead drivers, master mechanics, and safety officers, I'm usually speaking to a room full of men. But I haven’t found this to be a huge obstacle, aside from the occasional ‘shop talk,’ everyone is always incredibly professional, and my gender does not factor into the equation.”

“Guys in the garage are sometimes shocked to see me crawl under a dirty garbage truck to assist with an installation, but that’s part of my identity. They quickly realize that I belong in that shop too. Honestly, I have gone into the garage with some men who didn’t like getting dirty, and they faced more hesitancy or teasing from the mechanics than I did. I have found that if you go in with an appreciation and respect for the work being done then you will be repaid in kind.”

Women that are considering a career in waste and recycling should not be afraid to be their authentic selves, Cooper remarked. “Get in there and get your hands dirty,” she said. “There are lots of women in the industry that will be there to support you.”