CEO Column

By: David Biderman, SWANA CEO and Executive Director

It’s a cliché to say we are living in unprecedented times, but it’s true. The depth and meaning of this cliché was brought home to me last month when I attended a religious ceremony (a bar mitzvah) for a family member in Washington D.C.

I attended a Saturday morning service, with 60 other people, and prayed to God (yes, outdoors, wearing masks, and socially distanced). It was sunny. Birds were singing. It was absolutely extraordinary. On several occasions, it made me cry. It was a reminder of all the little and not so little things we have missed over these past 14 months, but gives me hope that we will build back better.

During the pandemic, many of the institutional supports that guide our lives and often give them meaning were put on hold. It wasn’t possible, in most places, to go to church or synagogue. Attending local meetings or hearings in person? Nope. Schools were closed. We shifted from “the Office” to Work From Home. This allowed us to wear sweatpants every day if we wanted, but the informal socializing and camaraderie that help create each of your companies’ and agencies’ workplace culture was lost.

There are SWANA staff who I have not seen since March 2020 except on Zoom and Teams. I have not been on an airplane in more than 14 months. Will I even remember how to score an upgrade on United?

In my neighborhood, kids are (finally) back in school. Family members and friends have (mostly) been vaccinated and are starting to see each other again. Summer vacations are being planned. Fist bumps are slowly being replaced by hugs. Masks, at least outdoors, are coming off.

There is growing optimism about the future, though it is tempered by what has been lost, including family members, friends, and colleagues. Many experienced anxiety and depression during the pandemic, and these conditions will hopefully dissipate as social connections are reestablished and the danger of ordinary human interactions declines. However, there will be long-term psychological impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a leader, father, husband, and friend, I hope to help members, family, and friends face and resolve them. But it won’t be easy. We all need to be flexible over the coming months – not everyone is ready to travel, some people aren’t comfortable being in a room with hundreds of other people, etc.

That’s why SWANA cancelled SOAR this year and replaced it with two terrific virtual events with a technical focus. On June 15, we will hold a Sustainable Materials Management Summit and on June 17, a Landfill Challenges Summit. Top EPA officials will speak at each event about the Biden Administration’s environmental priorities, and we have curated a terrific program of speakers and sessions. I hope you’ll join us and encourage co-workers and others from your chapters and Technical Divisions to register for them. You can even attend wearing sweatpants.

Hopefully by Fall, everyone will be ready to gather in person at WASTECON in Orlando on November 1-4. I’m considering setting up a hugging booth (despite the warnings from HR). I know I’m ready to give and receive them. I hope you are as well, but if not, that’s ok. Just seeing you in person will make my heart beat a little happier, and will serve as a reminder that our best days are in front of us.