SWANA Awarded Organization of the Year

Will Continue Providing Leadership, Education and Advocacy

Silver Spring, MD – December 9, 2019 – The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has been awarded the Organization of the Year by Waste Dive, one of the leading trade publications covering the solid waste and recycling industry. The honor is one of Waste Dive’s annual awards for notable companies, organizations, executives, and events, that shaped the industry and its future.

“SWANA is honored to receive this award, which reflects the hard work of many SWANA members and our staff,” stated David Biderman, SWANA’s Executive Director and CEO. He added, “This is the culmination of several years of activity, including our continuing growth, expanding our safety program, and positioning SWANA as a leading subject matter expert on waste and recycling issues on Capitol Hill, EPA, and other federal agencies.

“We will continue to be leaders and advocates on the issues that matter to this industry.”

 

SWANA’s accomplishments in the past year include: (1) playing a central role leading the national response to current recycling challenges; (2) adding Hauler Safety Outreach events and a Safety Pledge to its safety program; (3) entering into an Alliance with the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); (4) implementing the first portion of its South American capacity building and training project, and (5) restructuring its governance. Just in the past month, SWANA hosted a five-day Study Tour for solid waste delegates from Colombia and Chile, helped coordinate the Environmental Protection Agency’s America Recycles Innovation Fair and Recycling Summit, and distributed seven Safety Alerts to its chapter Safety Ambassadors.

“SWANA took a significant step this year in completing a comprehensive restructuring of the Association’s governance,” said Michael Greenberg, President of the SWANA Board of Directors. “Dedication to implementing SWANA’s five-year Strategic Plan allowed us to successfully accomplish the governance change in a little more than three years.”

SWANA’s Board was restructured to include representation from 13 Regions across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands. At the same time, the Board size was reduced from 70 to 21 members. The addition of more regional representation ensures that SWANA Chapters have a significant voice in setting SWANA direction. Other significant governance changes this year include the recognition of a new Pacific Islands Chapter and the formation of a new provisional Chapter in the State of Michigan. “We look forward to the involvement of our new Chapters in SWANA and welcome their commitment to turning waste into a resource," said Greenberg.

SWANA is pleased to receive this award and knows there is still much more that can be done. In 2020, SWANA will continue working to get waste collection workers off the top ten most dangerous jobs and reduce accidents and injuries. SWANA will help EPA and other stakeholders implement the recently released national Framework for recycling. SWANA will hold a Training Center in Colombia in June 2020, marking the first time that the association provides education – in Spanish – in Latin America.

None of this work would be possible without all those involved in SWANA including: the almost 11,000 SWANA members, Board of Directors, the Technical Divisions, SWANA’s 47 chapters in the United States and Canada, and SWANA staff. SWANA is excited to share this award with all those who are a part of #TeamSWANA and is looking forward to a successful year in 2020.

For more information on the Award, visit https://www.wastedive.com.

For more information on SWANA, visit https://swana.org/.