July-August 2011

SWANAs 2010 Public Sector Solid Waste Managers Salary Survey

The municipal solid waste management industry in the United States has been estimated to be a $52 billion per year business. (CNBC. Trash Inc.—The Secret Life of Garbage. October/November 2010. http://www.cnbc.com/id/38830389/.) A significant portion of this business is directed and managed by public sector solid waste executives and managers.  Public sector solid waste professionals

• own and operate some of the largest landfills in the United States;
• are responsible for multimillion-dollar budgets;
• manage a multiplicity of essential daily programs and services; and
• answer directly to the public and local elected officials for solid waste issues and problems.

In fiscal year 2010 (FY2010), SWANA conducted its second Public Sector Solid Waste Managers Survey project. (The first Public Sector Solid Waste Managers Survey project was conducted in FY2008 with the report published in April 2009.) Through this ongoing effort, SWANA has continued to collect, analyze, and disseminate up-to-date information and data on the salaries and benefits of public sector solid waste managers that can be used to ensure that they receive fair compensation based on their education, experience, and responsibilities.  SWANA hopes that this survey will become the most trusted industry measure of competitive compensation and benefits available.

The goal of the survey is to collect, compile, analyze, and report on the compensation and other benefits paid to public sector solid waste managers based upon specific organizational characteristics including:

• Total budget
• Job responsibilities
• Number of employees
• Years in position
• Geographic location

This article presents highlights from the 2010 SWANA Salary Survey report and provides salary and other compensation-related data for FY2010. Additional, more complete information is provided in the report which can be purchased from SWANA’s website found online at www.swana.org.

County/Authority Solid Waste Managers
County and authority solid waste managers work for county governments or solid waste authorities and are primarily responsible for the management of processing and disposal facilities. In a few cases, these managers are also responsible for solid waste collection services.

SWANA received completed questionnaires from twenty seven county or authority solid waste managers.  Summary information from these questionnaires is presented in Table 1.

As indicated, the 26 county and authority solid waste managers who submitted salary data earned an average of $98,259 per year in FY2010. Based on the standard deviation calculation, actual salaries can be expected to be in the range of plus or minus $33,585 of this average. These data are graphically illustrated in Figure 1.

Municipal Solid Waste Managers
Municipal solid waste managers primarily work for city governments and are mainly responsible for the provision of solid waste collection services. In a few cases, these managers work for county governments and/or special districts and are also responsible for solid waste processing and disposal facilities.

SWANA received completed questionnaires from 10 municipal solid waste managers. Summary information on the data and information contained in these questionnaires is presented in Table 2.

As indicated, the 10 municipal solid waste managers surveyed earned an average of $95,396 per year in FY2010. Based on the standard deviation calculation, actual salaries can be expected to be in the range of plus or minus $23,858 of this average. These data are graphically illustrated in Figure 2.

Next Steps
Over the last three years, SWANA has successfully completed the conduct of two Public Sector Solid Waste Managers Surveys, which resulted in the publication of reports in April 2009 and November 2010. SWANA sincerely appreciates the participation of the county and municipal solid waste managers who submitted salary and other compensation data for these surveys.

SWANA is committed to continuing the conduct of a biannual salary survey and the publication of a resulting report. This report will be made available for sale to SWANA members and the general public with the revenues used to support the survey effort. Managers who complete the salary survey will be provided with a free copy of the report. SWANA will continue to protect the privacy of the managers who submit salary and related survey data.

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