Opryland Venue and New Events Draw a Crowd at WASTECON 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
From the “all-in-one” venue accommodations to the buzz of innovative new events, WASTECON 2011 offered attendees a change from the more traditional WASTECON conferences of the past. Held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, attendees enjoyed the convenience of the sprawling property that offered everything—from the exhibit hall, technical sessions, training, and exams to housing, restaurants, special events, and entertainment, all under one roof. With close to 3,000 in attendance and more than 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest industry products and services, as well as increased numbers of participants onsite for SWANA’s Training Center, WASTECON 2011 was deemed a huge success by all involved.
SWANA’s Training Center opened on Sunday, August 21, with a significantly higher number of students than in previous years, including a completely full HHW & CESQG Facilities Course. And, new this year was the Certification Celebration, held Sunday evening to honor SWANA Certified individuals and faculty members. Special awards were presented to JW Spear for 26 years of SWANA Certification, and to Bob Fickle for holding seven different SWANA’s Certifications.
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| More students than ever were on hand to participate in this year’s Training Center. |
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| The Opening Reception featured mingling, dancing, Elvis songs, and an open mike for karaoke. |
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| Ignite, whose motto is “enlighten us, but make it quick,” has been gaining popularity nationwide. |
Monday, August 22, events included technical tours of local facilities, as well as two workshops and the annual WASTECON golf tournament. Monday evening was filled with the energy of kickoff events, including the new and extremely popular Ignite WASTECON event, where five brave SWANA members took the stage in a crowded room to share their personal and professional passions in this “one topic, five-minute, 20-slides-auto-advancing-every-15-seconds (whether they were ready or not)” presentation format. Ignite, whose motto is “enlighten us, but make it quick,” has been spreading like wildfire across the country, and even the world, and is here to stay at WASTECON.
Attendees made their way from Ignite to the Elvis Night Opening Reception, another big hit complete with food and drink stations extending along Opryland’s scenic Delta Island. The evening was fun-filled, with Elvis songs and life-size Elvis cutout photo opportunities, mixing and mingling, dancing, and even an open mike for karaoke.
With preconference activities generating lots of buzz and high energy, WASTECON officially began on Tuesday, August 23, with SWANA’s annual Awards Program, dedicated to recognizing individuals and facilities that have made significant contributions to the solid waste management field. For a complete list of the 2011 Award Winners, please see pages 18–21.
WASTECON 2011 Trade Show Opening Ceremonies also took place on Tuesday morning, including remarks by Nashville and Davidson County Mayor Karl Dean, as well as Robert Martineau of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The tradeshow featured a wide variety of solid waste management products and services, including everything from consulting services to landfill covers to bear-proof recycle bins. Among the highlights of the WASTECON 2011 exhibit hall was the opportunity to view, up-close, the largest compactor in North America, the new LC960-4 Landfill Compactor by Al-jon Manufacturing LLC.
Tuesday afternoon featured the opening of SWANA’s inaugural Waste Conversion Technologies (WCT) Showcase. Jeremy O’Brien, director of SWANA’s Applied Research Foundation, delivered the keynote address to a packed room. The Showcase, which included a dedicated track of technical sessions, as well as a WCT Pavilion in the Trade Show, was designed to shed some light on some of the seemingly futuristic methods of dealing with the nonrecyclable portion of the wastestream. The technologies, such as plasma arc gasification, hydrolysis/fermentation, and pyrolysis, have garnered a lot of interest from SWANA members and other solid waste professionals, leading SWANA to develop the Showcase as a way to increase awareness and provide current, relevant information to public sector solid waste managers who will purchase and implement the technologies.
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| Visitors to the Exhibit Hall were treated to an up-close view of Al-jon’s LC960-4 compactor. |
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| More than 200 exhibitors were on hand this year. |
In another effort to enlighten attendees on current industry practices and trends, WASTECON’s General Session, titled The Game Changers, brought together eight industry leaders to discuss what and how they have learned to adapt and advance in an ever-changing solid waste industry, especially over the last several years. Panelists included Patrick Carroll, director of facilities development for the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach, Florida; Anne Germain, chief of engineering and technology for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority; Thomas Hadden, executive director for Metro Waste Authority of Des Moines, Iowa; Andrew Quigley, director of Environmental Services for the city of Tucson, Arizona; James Warner, chief executive officer for the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority; Will Flower, executive vice president of communications for Republic Services; and Al Lynch, manager of waste reduction for the North Shore Recycling Program in North Vancouver, British Colombia. The session was moderated by Tom Parker, solid waste market leader, western region, for CDM.
In addition to the WCT Showcase and The Game Changers, WASTECON 2011 technical sessions included more than 55 presenters addressing a wide array of solid waste management issues, including topics from increasing rural recycling and zero-waste planning to transfer station design and landfill gas regulations. WASTECON is intended to be the meeting place for professionals in all facets of solid waste management, and the diversity of educational opportunities, including training courses and technical sessions, as well as the variety of exhibitors in trade show, highlights SWANA’s effort to be sure that the event remains all-inclusive. However, WASTECON is not only about training and education. The event is also designed to provide ample opportunities for socializing and increasing your network of professional contacts. The Wednesday Night Networking Event, hosted by the Tennessee “Volunteer” Chapter of SWANA, was one such opportunity.
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| The Game Changers brought together eight industry leaders to discuss an ever-changing business. |
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| The Tennessee Chapter sponsored an event to remember at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. |
The Tennessee Chapter planned and executed an event to remember at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville. WASTECON attendees had the chance to experience a night on the town, complete with southern BBQ, fried pickles, live music performed by a former American Idol contestant, and even a dance floor featuring line-dancing instruction.
Thursday, the third and last day of the conference, brought the final hours of the Trade Show and an afternoon filled with technical sessions before the Mid-Atlantic and Virginia “Old Dominion” Chapters of SWANA hosted the final event, a Kick-Off Party for WASTECON 2012. SWANA is already busy preparing for next year, when WASTECON will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the Nation’s Capital. WASTECON 2012 will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, August 14–16, 2012. Visit www.wastecon.org throughout the year for the latest news and updates.
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