Colombian Training Center Wraps As a Success

Over the past several weeks, two SWANA MOLO instructors, 79 Latin Americans and several other SWANA members obtained a first-hand understanding of the challenges facing both teachers and students participating in virtual schools.  Despite the challenges of hosting SWANA’s Colombian Landfill Training Center via Zoom and through a translation app over nine days in November and December, feedback from instructors, attendees and guest speakers has been very positive. 

A total of 71 Colombians, 7 Chileans and a Panamanian participated in the series of three-hour sessions that replaced the SWANA Training Center originally planned to be held in Bogotá in June.  SWANA teamed with MAG Consultoria, a consulting firm in Bogota, Colombia that also participates in the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), to prepare the training and recruit participants.  

“Our Colombian Landfill Training Center was a huge success for SWANA, our members, and the participants from dozens of Colombian companies and governmental agencies," stated David Biderman, SWANA CEO and Executive Director. "The training was the final major component of our grant project, and SWANA has learned a lot about how to successfully provide training and information to the Latin American audience.”

The Training Center was part of a larger project funded with a $400,000 US State Department grant to support and encourage a high level of environmental protection by strengthening environmental regulations and enforcement across the region and by encouraging improved landfill operating practices.

SWANA MOLO instructors Dave Lore and Michelle Langdon split up the nine instruction sessions, each of which also corresponded to a written guide that covered the day’s topic in more detail.  Course materials were developed by Eastern Research Group (ERG) from a comparison of US and Colombian regulations; the results of visits to several Colombian landfills; lessons from an earlier November 2019 study tour to several landfills in Georgia; and SWANA’s existing training materials for landfill managers and operators.

"Despite the language barrier and teaching over computers, the class was surprisingly engaging and we as instructors were able to learn from the students," said Michelle Langdon, PE, Project Manager at Great West Engineering, Inc.

One of the expected outcomes of the State Department grant was to help level the playing field for US businesses and manufacturers in Latin America. To address that outcome and supplement the prepared materials, guest presentations from several SWANA members were also built into the daily classes:  

• Sarah Flores, Us State Department Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs  
• Manuel Hernandez, SCS Engineers
• Jeff Murray, HDR
• Anthony Gregory, Republic Services
• Pat Stanford, RochemAmericas
• Ivan Cooper, Civil Environmental Consultants
• Juan David Acosta, QED Environmental Systems
• Travis Schwark, Caterpillar
• Andy Iturriria, LSC Environmental Products
• Kasem Cornelius, Blue Ridge Services