By Wayman J. Pearson

As I rapidly approach the end of my public sector career in the solid waste industry, I find myself reflecting on some of the things that have occurred during the past 32-plus years of my career. In reflecting, it is very evident that the solid waste industry has come a long way. This is true in both the private as well as the public sector of the solid waste industry. In fact, from my perspective, the publicly run solid waste organization has made major strides in closing the gap with the private sector when it comes to providing competitive and efficient service to our customers.

It is impossible to talk about some of the advancements that have been achieved in the publicly run solid waste industry without talking about the role that SWANA has played in advancing solid waste management in North America. A major challenge facing both SWANA and those of us responsible for service delivery is that of shaping the future for a new generation of workers more diverse than in the past, workers with very different values and expectations than the members of the baby-boomer generation who are rapidly approaching the end of their public careers—such as myself.

Those of us in this industry are very much aware of the role that technology has played in the advancement and sophistication of solid waste management. We have gone from the days of long mundane hours spent doing manual routing to the very sophisticated routing packages and systems on the market today. We have watched the evolution of collection vehicles evolve from the era of high-maintenance automated vehicles, such as the first generation of rapid rail, to numerous manufactured, high-production, multipurpose, automated vehicles for residential and commercial collection alike. Obviously, these trends will continue with technology.

As I have watched the technological development of tools available in our industry, the question that troubles me is whether we are making the necessary investment in the people who will be responsible for managing and utilizing these advancements—specifically, our laborers, operators and front-line supervisors. Looking ahead, I am convinced that the successful solid waste organizations will be those that are committed to continuous development of their work force and to the understanding that the work force of the future will be very different with different than the one on its way out.

As well as embracing a more diverse workforce, we will be competing for a less abundant number of workers from which to draw. This means that we mostly commit more time, effort, and resources to the development of our existing and future employees.
Also, I believe that diversity is and will continue to be an issue with the vendors providing service to local government. As mentioned earlier, as diversity in the workforce continues to be an issue with local government, it will become an issue for those vendors who provide service to local government. I believe that it is important and good business for representatives of those companies to reflect the entities that they service.

Lastly, I am confident that SWANA will continue to evolve as the premier training organization for local government. In addition, it will continue to focus on those issues that will allow the continued growth of solid waste professionals throughout North America.

Wayman J. Pearson is key business executive with the Solid Waste Services Department of the city of Charlotte, NC.

MSW - September/October 2006