John Trotti

I had just finished putting the finishing touches on this column when Hurricane Charley thundered onto Florida's Caribbean shore at Punta Gorda and bulldozed its way back across the state before going feet-wet again near Daytona Beach on the Atlantic coast. Between the entry and exit points lies a swath of destruction that many of you will be dealing with for months—perhaps years—to come.

Headlines will belong to the awesome toll in lives and carnage that lie in Charley's wake…at least 16 known dead and hundreds of thousands still in shelters. What most people, including members of the press, focus their attention on is the immediate damage, where photos and TV clips of the wreckage and body bags speak more eloquently to the situation than words ever could. Of course, the words themselves—in this instance the number of dead and injured, billions of dollars in lost property, millions of families without utilities—will stick with us at least until the next catastrophe strikes. So will tales of heroism and charity on one side of the ledger—perhaps charges of inadequate disaster-preparedness programs, slow emergency management support, and personal privation on the other. That the brunt of Charley's fury missed the Tampa/St. Petersburg metropolitan area is perhaps the best news of the entire episode, though this will be no consolation to those who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses, and perhaps their means of livelihood.

What will receive little if any press is the daunting task that lies ahead for federal and state disaster-relief officials who will have to plan, coordinate, and make available funds for cleanup. In the thick of the action will be waste managers from the entire region who will have to oversee the cataloging, collection, storage, and disposal of millions of tons of wreckage that present a severe threat to public health and safety.

An Issue for Your Archive

Though I had in mind an entirely different entry port, Hurricane Charley allows me to dive right into to the importance of this issue of MSW Management because of Tammy Hayes's article, "Emergency Management—Are you Ready?" that speaks to the subject with an almost eerie prescience. While it comes a little late to assist Charlotte County, FL, officials in the preparation of their disaster-preparedness programs, the article is in my humble opinion mandatory reading even if no hurricane is liable to come within a thousand miles of your area.

I had planned to start by commending to you the stunning original artwork by our senior graphic designer, Bob Ott, that graces this issue's cover. Many will recognize the Mola treatment he's applied to the subject of one of the feature articles, "Workforce Trends: Hispanics and the MSW Industry" by Penelope O'Malley, another article that you'll want to pass along for all of your staff members to read. My "Editor's Comments" in the July/August 2004 issue of MSW Management (available at www.forester.net/mw_0407_editorial.html), provides an inkling of what lies ahead on the human resources front, but O'Malley's insightful article will give you an even deeper appreciation for the challenges and opportunities awaiting us. While it is entirely coincidental that this year's WASTECON takes place in the desert Southwest, where the issues discussed are most easily seen, it is here also that the warp and weft and Hispanic and Anglo cultures stand as a model for the rest of the nation to study, understand, and perhaps adopt.

As has been our practice over the past several years, this is the issue that pays homage to SWANA's Excellence Award winners, all of whom will be recognized at the WASTECON Awards Luncheon at noon on Thursday, September 23, at the Phoenix Convention Center. As in the past, we've highlighted the accomplishments of landfill award winners (p. 38), New River (FL) Regional Landfill (Gold), Seminole County (FL) Osceola Road Solid Waste Management Facility (Silver), and Charles City (VA) Landfill (Bronze). As we offer our congratulations to all the award winners, we'd like to remind you that it's not too soon to begin your quest for a 2005 Excellence Award.

John Williams's "WTE 25-Years Later: Technology with a Past, Present, and Future" , is a lot more than interesting reading. It is a wakeup call not only for those involved in WTE projects that came on-line in the 1970s and '80s, but an eye-opening discussion of future possibilities for those considering the option in the wake of recent energy-related concerns. If you are at all interested in WTE, please take note of the boxed announcement.

Were there space, I would step through the entire Table of Contents and give you even more reasons to read this issue from cover to cover, but instead I'll leave it up to you to prove me right. I will, however, point out one more thing. Please notice that this issue launches our Safety Department, which with your help will become one of the most important elements of the magazine. Please make it a regular part of your reading. Better still, contact us at safety@forester.net and become a contributor.

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MSW - September/October 2004