WasteExpo announces that it successfully united the $85 billion solid waste, recycling and organics industry May 9-12 in Las Vegas. WasteExpo brought together more than 12,000 industry professionals with over 500 exhibitors to learn, network and explore new innovations. “Connecting our community in-person was wonderful. The conference sessions were packed with attendees learning about the latest trends and the Exhibit Hall was buzzing with excitement. Attendees, exhibitors, partners and sponsors were all excited to be back together doing business,” said Marc Acampora, Vice President, Waste360. “We look forward to bringing our community together again at our 2023 event in New Orleans.”

Education
The event brought the industry together to learn through four days of unparalleled professional development delivering spotlight sessions, workshops and dozens of conference sessions across the following tracks: Operations, Fleet & Safety; Recycling & Landfill; Business Insights & Policy; Technology & Innovation, Organics and the Food Recovery Forum. Spotlight Sessions offered the latest news and insights including a one-on-one chat with Jon Vander Ark, President & CEO, Republic Services; Future Steps Toward Refuse Fleet Electrification—What Comes Next; Boots on the Ground: A Conversation with the Women in the Waste and Recycling Industry; and Understanding Environmental Justice’s Role in the Waste and Recycling Industry.

WasteExpo also offered four half-day workshops that each focused on a different industry topic. Workshops included: Zero Waste Certified Training, Food Waste & Organics Diversion Program Development, Safety, and Recycling. The Waste360 Sustainability Talks conference program offered real talk as waste and recycling takes on plastics, packaging, food waste, textiles and other environmental challenges to build a sustainable future. Bill Caesar, Operating Partner, Generate Capital presented the keynote address. Highlights included: The Global Plastics Treaty is a Go – Now What?, Scaling the Use of Ocean-bound Plastics: A Story of Circularity, Chasing Transparency – Carbon Labeling, Sustainable Collaboration Across the Public/Private Sector – Common Goals & Aspirations, The Package Deal: Innovations and the Latest Thinking in Sustainable Packaging and Urban Landfills and the Circular Economy.

The Waste360 Business Leadership Forum was designed for environmental services companies looking for business and financial strategies that go beyond day-to-day operations. Attendees gained access to insights, tools and resources for developing business and financial strategies for business growth. The 10th Waste360/Stifel Investor Summit brought investors and leaders from top public and private waste companies for a full day of learning, analysis and networking.

Exhibit Hall
The Exhibit Hall featured more than 500 exhibitors showcasing the latest industry solutions.Exhibitors were doing business and enthusiastically reconnecting with buyers and friends. Evan Schwartz, Chief Enterprise Architect from AMCS said that, “we hit our goals for WasteExpo on day one of the show!”

Awards

  • The Pitch Slam competition brought teams that have been vetted to pitch their recycling, composting and end market ideas. Winners included: Innovakote Inc. and Timber Age Systems, Inc.
  • The Waste360 40 Under 40 awards program recognized inspiring and innovative professionals under the age of 40 whose work in waste, recycling and organics has made a significant contribution to the industry.

WasteExpo supports the industry:

  • The Environmental Research & Education Foundation charitable auction supports EREF’s funding of scholarships and grants for solid waste research, as well as EREF’s educational initiatives. This year’s auction raised a historic $3.5 million.
  • The NWRA Awards Breakfast honored the brightest achievers in the waste and recycling industry. The awards presented at this event included Driver of the Year, Operator of the Year and Hall of Fame.
  • NWRA Women’s Council Boutique sold industry-related and recycled items. The proceeds support the council’s programs, including the academic scholarship programs that provide a career path in the waste and recycling industry.

WasteExpo is committed to building a sustainable future. WasteExpo Green Initiatives included: partnered with Wastequip and the Las Vegas Convention Center to implement a three-bin waste stream system including Compost, Recycling and Landfill; partnered with GES to collect leftover conference and booth materials for donation to local non-profits; reduced paper consumption by offering a mobile app instead of a printed program; eliminated carpet from the show floor of the Exhibit Hall; 100% use of LED technology for custom builds; discounts for the Las Vegas Monorail, which connects the Las Vegas Convention Center to six additional stations along Las Vegas Boulevard; and repurposed food waste to create a Zero Waste Lunch for WasteExpo’s Food Recovery Forum.

The 2023 WasteExpo will take place May 1-4, 2023 in New Orleans, LA.

For more information, visit www.wasteexpo.com.

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