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SWANA Strategic Pillars

SWANA’ s mission, transforming waste to a resource, and its four strategic priorities serve as the foundation for SWANA’s activities and goals:

Prioritizing Safety: SWANA is dedicated to supporting and advancing efforts to reduce accidents and injuries in the waste collection industry.
Championing Progress on Sustainability: Recognized as a leading subject matter expert on environmental stewardship in the waste and resource management industry, SWANA drives progress on sustainability across the industry through advocacy, research, and education.
Promoting Professional Development Opportunities: SWANA is committed to attracting, cultivating, and supporting a thriving, highly skilled, and diverse workforce across the industry.
Delivering Exceptional Value to Members: With a dynamic blend of conferences, meetings, networking platforms, access to resources and industry-leading research, SWANA builds and nurtures a vibrant community that helps industry professionals and organizations to meet goals and discover new opportunities.

Learn more about the four SWANA Strategic Pillars:

Pillar 1 – Prioritizing Safety:

SWANA is dedicated to supporting and advancing efforts to reduce accidents and injuries in the waste collection industry.

Foster a culture of safety across the waste and resource management industry through resources, trainings, and initiatives:

Trainings – Provide comprehensive trainings on safety standards and best practices.
Safety Ambassadors – Cultivate Safety Ambassadors, a program where safety leaders serve as ambassadors in SWANA chapters across North America.
Safety Awards – Acknowledge the waste and resource management industry’s profound commitment to improving employee safety and wellness through SWANA safety awards presented annually at RCon™.
Promote awareness through North American safety and health campaigns, such as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Fall Prevention Month.

Collaborate and partner with key stakeholders to develop and support industry-appropriate standards and policies that lead to safer work environments:

Advocate for and promote accident-reducing communications and legislation, such as heat safety standards and safe driving around collection vehicles.
Collaborate with safety industry partners, including National Safety Council (NSC), American Society for Safety Professionals (ASSP), National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA), and Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
Work with like-minded organizations and government agencies to prevent lithium-ion battery fires in vehicles and at facilities, urging stronger investments in detection technology and public education.

Support the implementation of advanced technology – including automation, machine vision, and AI – that strengthens worker protections.

Include and promote safety measures in SWANA policy documents, such as:

Container Deposit Return Systems (CDRS) Technical Policy – Emphasizes the importance of designing CDRS with user safeguards required for all facilities that handle covered materials.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Technical Policy and Guiding Principles – Focuses on safety throughout the lifecycle of a product.
Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Policy Statement – Supports raising awareness and supporting policy initiatives that ensure proper battery disposal to protect workers, communities, and the environment.

Pillar 2 – Championing Progress on Sustainability:

Recognized as a leading subject matter expert on environmental stewardship in the waste and resource management industry, SWANA drives progress on sustainability across the industry through advocacy, research, and education.

Emphasize resource management in SWANA’s structure and communications.

Highlight and communicate programs, technologies, and policies that advance environmental stewardship through articles, social media posts, webinars, and more.

Advocate for public policies that advance sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Engage with brands on product inception through a sustainability lens, including design for recycling and composting.

Participate in the US Plastics Pact (USPP) and Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) to support product and packaging sustainability.

Commend meaningful actions by members to address sustainability through annual awards – Sustainable Materials Management Technical Division Advancement Award and Sustainable Materials Management Young Professional Impact Award.

Participate in and support global sustainability events and initiatives such as the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress.

Place an enhanced emphasis on organic management as part of SWANA’s sustainability initiatives, such as collaboration with composting association partners, including the US Composting Council and the Compost Council of Canada.

Place a greater emphasis on resource management at SWANA’s annual event RCon™ in both technical content and the event planning.

Pillar 3 – Promoting Professional Development Opportunities

SWANA is committed to attracting, cultivating, and supporting a thriving, highly skilled, and diverse workforce across the industry.

Inspire new interest in the industry by focusing on the mission of resource management.

Education – Offer education for members to build skills, become subject matter experts, and achieve personal career goals. SWANA provides access to an extensive array of first-class trainings delivered in a variety of ways, including at RCon™, in online courses, webinars, and trainings we directly bring to organizations, facilities, and municipalities.

Certifications – Ensure professionals in the field are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to excel in their careers by offering industry standard certifications.

SWANA Career Center – Offer access to fresh talent or new career opportunities through the SWANA Career Center.

Young Professionals – Actively engage young professionals and next generation employees to foster a pool of well-rounded future industry leaders through targeted initiatives, including:

Provide dedicated positions for young professionals that create opportunities for leadership and involvement through YP Chapter Representatives, YP Technical Division Representatives, and the YP Steering Committee.
Acknowledge the hard work, performance, and dedication of young professionals by annually awarding three exemplary YP members with The Young Professional of the Year Award.
Encourage studies related to the field of waste and resource management through scholarship opportunities.

Pillar 4 – Delivering Exceptional Value to Members:

With a dynamic blend of conferences, meetings, networking platforms, access to resources and industry-leading research, SWANA builds and nurtures a vibrant community that helps industry professionals and organizations to meet goals and discover new opportunities.

Deliver access to the latest information in the field to members.

Provide online community forums for members to directly connect and discuss industry trends, challenges, and updates.

Foster exceptional networking opportunities through SWANA’s 47 Chapters and 7 Technical Divisions – subject matter experts focused on specific areas within waste and resource management.

Provide a variety of volunteer opportunities for members to engage with projects that drive the association and the industry.

Advocate for responsible and practical public policy in support of members and inform them about policies that impact them.

Provide access to industry-leading research and resources on initiatives and challenges, such as PFAS, recycling markets, landfill gas management, collections efficiencies, organics management, and preventing fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.

Continue to evolve RCon™ to offer cutting-edge discussions, technologies, and practices.

Serve as the hub for information exchange and knowledge sharing for the industry.

Grow and retain members through enhanced systems and practices, including:

Upgraded member management systems that maximize member retention and create user-friendly experiences.
Regular assessments to ensure a broad reach of marketing and communications practices to deliver relevant content to members.