Facing the Future Together

With all the concerns of today, many are wondering what the future of the solid waste industry will look like. How will things change? What new challenges will we face? How do we address those challenges? We may not have all the answers yet, but today’s students will have to answer those questions as they enter the industry and advance in their roles. Knowing this, SWANA hopes to help position future industry workers to face these challenges through student membership and partnership efforts with academic institutions.

SWANA Student Membership

Today’s SWANA student members are the fastest growing membership group with more than 900 members and counting! With FREE student membership, many students are able to interact with industry professionals and access needed information through Technical Division groups and the online MySWANA website. In addition, SWANA also continues to expand on membership programming such as MentorMatch and The Young Professionals Group to keep students connected to other SWANA members and assist with career planning. Students are also included in SWANA events and conferences through activities such as the annual International Solid Waste Design Competition where schools from all over compete to solve real-world industry challenges.

“I have really enjoyed my student membership. I like that it is free for students whereas other professional organizations I participate in charge students a few for membership. Also, I have had great experiences with the YP program. From an event I attended back in 2017 I did meet someone who did give me my first internship. All thanks to the opportunity through the student membership!”
– Courtney Harr, San Diego State University

SWANA Chapters and Academia

SWANA Chapter partnerships with various universities have also had a positive impact on SWANA and the industry overall. Such efforts have made it easier for university professors to collaborate with SWANA on giving their students access to real-life industry professionals through guest speaking opportunities, mentoring activities, and chapter events. Most importantly, many students have received scholarship money and connected with industry professionals that helped make the transition from school to working in the industry a little easier.

SWANA has also started the newly formed SWANA/Hickman Future Leaders Program in effort to help more chapters get involved with academia in their areas. When asked about their partnership efforts the Florida Sunshine Chapter shared, “The partnership with academia has resulted in immense benefits for both SWANA and for academia…..leading researchers at universities across the state come and speak at our conferences to share their findings with industry professionals. Students are able to present their research and get involved with student design competitions. This provides an intimate opportunity for students to network with professionals.”

With efforts like this, the future is already looking brighter!