Meet a SWANA Young Professional: Kelli Farmer

How many years have you been in the industry?

Three and a half years. 

If you were to travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

I’d love to see the Great Barrier Reef and the Northern Lights.  

What does this recognition mean to you? 

I feel beyond honored because I know there are so many extraordinary YPs in our industry doing amazing things. SWANA has given me so much since joining the industry and I’m truly grateful for that. My goal is to be a source of knowledge for others, as that’s what SWANA and its members have been to me.  

How did your education contribute to you joining the solid waste industry? 

I went to school for Sustainability because of my love for the planet and goal of protecting it. I always thought I’d work at the EPA, I knew nothing of the solid waste industry. I’m definitely one of those people that stumbled upon it, but will never go anywhere else. I’m a lifelong solid waster!  

As a YP, what about this industry have you found to be most interesting? 

The industry is constantly evolving. Whether its new policies or technology, I feel like I’m always learning something new. It’s one thing that I love about our industry. No matter how long you’ve been a part of our industry, we’re all continually learning something new together.  

What are the topics you see keeping you busy over the next 5-10 years?  

I’m located in California so my work is primarily driven right now by SB 1383 and its edible food recovery requirements. I think we’ve come a long way since the regulations went into effect in 2022, but we’ve still got a ways to go so I imagine edible food recovery work will keep me quite busy. I also hope to see the work we’re doing here expand across the Country as it is important work for not just reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but feeding those in need in our communities as well.  

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Any lessons learned you’d like to share (successes or ‘what not to do’)? 

My favorite project is one I’ve been working on since I started as SCS. It’s a regional approach to edible food recovery in the San Gabriel Valley. A highlight for me was when we were able to coordinate saving five pallets of peppers that were going to be thrown away by a business. I was really able to see the impact the program has on the community. I’ve learned A LOT from this project, but probably the most important thing is that successes don’t happen overnight like we may hope. The business that we recovered five pallets of peppers from, we had to work to get them to trust us and want to donate the food. It didn’t happen from one interaction.  

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? 

I love cooking! Finding new recipes on social media and trying to duplicate them, but adding a little bit of a twist, really excites me. My favorite thing when cooking is that my dog loves to lay in the kitchen and watch. I tell myself it’s because he wants to be my little sous chef, but I think he really just wants to be the vacuum.