SWANA’s new spring technical conference will take place in Kansas City, MO from March 21 – 24, 2022.
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is pleased to announce the new premier Spring technical conference for local governments and the solid waste and recycling industry, SOAR 2022, taking place face-to-face in Kansas City, MO from March 21 – 24, 2022.
SOAR is built on the essence of SWANApalooza, providing technical solutions and networking opportunities for resource management to the entire solid waste community. However, SOAR is much more than a name change. It demonstrates SWANA’s dedication to keeping pace with the transformations happening throughout the solid waste industry in the U.S. and Canada.
What is SOAR?
SOAR stands for Sustainability, Operations, Action and Resources. For the first time, SOAR brings together professionals and experts from all disciplines of the resource management
community, offering technical education, networking events, peer-to-peer learning, and actionable, fact-based solutions to advance the future of resource management.
Who Should Attend?
SOAR is a must-attend event for professionals in
• Landfill Gas & Biogas
• Landfill Management
• Waste Conversion & Energy Recovery
• Sustainable Materials Management, including Recycling
SOAR Pulls from the Best of SWANA’s Technical Conferences
It offers content tracks and symposiums specific to participants’ technical divisions to provide actionable solutions that can be put to work immediately in facilities. Michael E. Hoffman of Stifel will kick off the conference with his keynote presentation.
Nena Shaw, Acting Director of the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division of the U.S. EPA will lead a session discussing the Agency’s new Recycling Framework.
Cassandra Ford and The Recycling Partnership will share best practices for reducing contamination in drop-off programs. Participants will receive access to never-before-shared data from The Partnership’s work in seven communities across the state of Michigan and real-time insights into how contamination rates dropped in all programs. Additionally, Ford will cover the tactical approaches to budgeting for a contamination reduction campaign in drop-off programs—where and how to spend your dollars to see the most significant results.
Join the PFAS Seminar to hear industry professionals explain practical PFAS management technologies and what you need to know about emerging contaminants. Discussions will be interactive to give solutions to problems participants are facing.
SOAR will address the labor shortages in waste and recyclables collection and effective ways to face these challenges. Technology will also play a key focus at the conference. Learn how automation also allowed haulers to better compete for and retain diverse, younger talent during an ongoing driver shortage turned calamitous. The challenges over the last year-and-a-half have revealed that the best time to automate the complexity, time and tedium out of the waste collection was yesterday.
Networking and Tour Opportunities
SOAR offers an array of laidback networking opportunities to meet with new and old peers. Attend the Monday night Happy Hour hosted by SWANA Technical Divisions to learn more about each Technical Division and find your perfect fit. Chat with other professionals in your field and gain contacts across North America.
See a great example of circular economy in action with a presentation by Ripple Glass, a glass recovery and recycling company started by Boulevard Brewery’s founder to create a circular economy and has expanded to service a five-state area. This includes a private tour of Boulevard Brewery, a zero-waste to landfill facility and the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, a beer tasting, and a commemorative glass for you to take home.
SWANA Training Center
Use SWANA education and training to help you tackle the challenges you face daily, keep your facilities, equipment and operations running smoothly, comply with regulations, and incorporate best practices and new technologies that help you look and work smarter!
Courses available include:
• Zero Waste Principles & Practices
• Landfill Gas Operations & Maintenance
• Manager of Integrated Solid Waste Management
• Manager of Landfill Operations (MOLO)
• Manager of Collection Systems (Two-day course held March 21 – 22)
FasTrack: A Focused (and Cost-Effective) Way to Learn, Earn CEUs and Recertify
Take advantage of this special program offered only to SWANA certification holders! FasTrack addresses your need to keep learning and helps you speed up earning the 30 continuing education credits needed for SWANA recertification. FasTrack gives you:
• SOAR All-Access Conference Pass that includes entry to the keynote and breakout sessions, networking events and Exhibit Hall
• One SWANA Recertification (valued between $250 and $400, depending on membership)
• One SWANA onDemand Course (valued between $743 and $1,323, depending on membership)
• 30 continuing education credits (CEUs)
Save $100 by using promo code WA100 when you register!
Learn more about SOAR and keep up-to-date with exciting conference developments by visiting https://swanasoar.org/.