CEO Column

Happy holidays!

As I write this column, my stomach is full from leftover mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (the turkey was finished days ago). Following WASTECON, Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa will be upon us quickly. Lots of celebrating and good food to look forward to.

I hope each of you celebrates the end of year holidays with friends and family (or solo, if that’s your preference).

It’s been quite a year, for me personally, and for SWANA.

My daughter got married last month. Since she is a mathematician, she decided to get married on Friday November 11^th, at 11:11am. Strange? Maybe a little. Also, it’s difficult enough for me to acknowledge that I have a 29-year-old child, let alone a 29-year-old married child. But its wonderful knowing that she has found her soulmate.

SWANA had a remarkable year. The Board of Directors approved the new “Forward Together” Strategic Plan in June, and members and staff started implementing it almost immediately. Next week’s Chapter Connect sessions at WASTECON are a direct outgrowth of the Strategic Plan, which has as one of its four goals to strengthen SWANA’s infrastructure. By making chapters stronger, we improve the entire association. I am looking forward to the outcomes from the Chapter Connect sessions and additional steps we can take to improve HQ-chapter communications and relations, and help our 47 chapters.

Another goal in the Strategic Plan is getting the solid waste collection industry off the list of ten most dangerous jobs. Recent federal data revealed a substantial decline in injuries and illnesses among industry employees. This good news, combined with other safety data collected by SWANA, which makes me cautiously optimistic that we will see progress towards that goal when more federal data comes out later this month.

For much of the past year, SWANA has been at the center of a major federal policy discussion taking place in Washington, DC that has the potential to impact the entire solid waste industry and thousands of local governments. SWANA has been part of a solid waste industry coalition seeking to educate EPA and Congress about the potential impact of designating two PFAS compounds as hazardous substances under the Superfund statute (CERCLA). Under Superfund, anyone who “arranged for disposal” of a hazardous substance is strictly, jointly, and severally liable—retroactively—for the cost of cleaning up a site where such hazardous substances are found. For example, this means if a landfill sent leachate to a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) between 1990 and 1999, and the WWTF discharged treated liquid into a river, and PFAS is found downstream from the WWTF on riverfront property, the landfill could be on the hook for millions of dollars in cleanup costs. Why? Because leachate contains PFAS and the WWTF’s treatment process did not remove the PFAS from the effluent. It doesn’t matter if the discharge was legal at the time. Superfund is a very blunt instrument.

Since EPA proposed to designate two PFAS compounds in early September, SWANA has been on numerous calls with our industry partners, local government groups, and others strategizing on this issue. Our goal is for Congress to exempt “passive receivers” of PFAS such as landfills and WWTF’s from Superfund liability. It is an uphill battle, and Jesse Maxwell, Advocacy and Safety Senior Manager, is doing an admirable job coordinating SWANA’s efforts. I expect this issue and other impending EPA proposals concerning PFAS to be a very active area for SWANA and the solid waste industry in 2023 and beyond.

I hope to see many of you at WASTECON in San Diego, but recognize that not all SWANA members will be there. If not, please make plans to join your SWANA family in Atlanta for SOAR on April 16–19 and/or in Boston on September 27–30 for WASTECON. Many of us celebrate the holidays with our family. I want you to celebrate SWANA with your SWANA family. Best wishes to all for a joyous New Year.