MSW Management | Editorial

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A Peek Behind the Curtain

By John Trotti

John Trotti

Having just returned from the better part of a week at WASTECON 2007 in Reno, NV, rubbing elbows with attendees and exhibitors alike, I realize how fortunate we are to have two such opportunities in the course of each year to assess where we are, where the chief concerns lie, and where we appear to be headed.

Similar to its springtime cousin, Waste Expo, SWANA’s premier event provides a focused backdrop for discourse among the different elements that make up what is a very diverse industry. This year the hottest topic—and subject of the most animated discussions in both venues—came in response to 2007’s most memorable waste event … the United States Supreme Court affirmation of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s ruling in the case of United Haulers Association Inc. et al. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority et al. (Herkimer) that concluded in a split decision that the counties’ flow control ordinances, which treat in-state private business interests exactly the same as out-of-state ones, do not discriminate against interstate commerce.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that I’m against public sector flow control [see my Editor’s Comments on the subject at http://www.mswmanagement.com/mw_0707_editorial.html or that I oppose a little healthy pot-stirring at these events, but I have to wonder if I’m the only one who came away bothered that the principal topic for debate lay in issues less related to managing the waste itself rather than who gets to control it. Indeed, I can rattle off a half-dozen topics more in line with our public charter than flow control without having to put on my thinking cap … to wit:

How do you equate “sustainability” with applying diversion credits to materials for which no markets exist?
How do you justify applying diversion credits to materials shipped offshore where inadequate or (more likely) no environmental stewardship standards are in force?
What are your plans for meeting future human resource challenges, considering (among a great many factors) that many operations already depend on retirees to make up for present-day management and critical personnel shortfalls?
How might your operations be affected (and what opportunities for greater efficiencies lie in wait) when it comes to facing ever-more-stringent environmental and local traffic management considerations?
What happens when the post-closure care period has come to an end and your set-aside funds are exhausted but your landfill is far from dead?
What options do you have in the event of a shortage of commercial driver’s license holders?

And if you’d like a bonus question …

Just because the Herkimer decision suggests that you may do so, does your municipality really have the expertise to institute and manage a flow control operation?

The Challenge of Change
It’s said that managers are geared to respond to change while leaders act to control it. “Gee-whiz,” you say, eager to set yourself in the ranks of those in control, only every time you start to map out your wish list for the future, something pops up to set you back into the scrambling mode. So maybe controlling is a little too strong a term. How about nudging, where the key lies in setting your sights far enough out there to see the possibilities, and then by working your way back toward the present, see where the pitfalls and opportunities lurk.

Our semi-annual waste events are great venues for donning our long-distance glasses and looking for activities that if coordinated might actually have a positive impact on waste management options. But even more intriguing are the opportunities for moving these efforts beyond our own confines, implicit in the just-announced co-location of WASTECON and APWA at Boston in 2010. Yes, that seems like a long way away, but perhaps if we start now assessing the situation, we’ll be ready to take full advantage of the opportunity.

MSW - November/December 2007