News

In order to prepare the next generation for the environmentally and economically sound practice of solid waste, SWANA has developed several scholarship and internship programs for students studying in fields related to solid waste management.

SWANA typically distributes $20,000 to $25,000 a year in four to five scholarships through this effort in three categories:

 

• Category 1 award – high school senior entering junior or four-year college/university – any field of study.
• • Must have a SWANA member as a sponsor. 
  • Submit their application to the Chapter where their sponsor is a member.
• Category 2 award – university junior or senior studying something that has potential for a career in solid waste management.  Please note that this is not strictly a science and engineering requirement.
• • Must be a SWANA student member or have a SWANA member as a sponsor. 
  • Joining as a SWANA student member is free. They are encouraged to join the Chapter where their school or university is located and submit their application to that Chapter.  
  • If submitting under the aegis of a sponsoring SWANA member, student should submit to the Chapter where their sponsor is a member.

  
  

• Robert P. Stearns/SCS Engineers Scholarship – graduate student studying environmental science, engineering or other field related to solid waste or resource management. 
• • Must be a SWANA student member or have a SWANA member as a sponsor.
  • Joining as a SWANA student member is free. They are encouraged to join the Chapter where their school or university is located and submit their application to that Chapter.  
  • If submitting under the aegis of a sponsoring SWANA member, student should submit to the Chapter where their sponsor is a member.  

 

Each of the applications for these three categories should be submitted to the SC SWANA Chapter by May 3, 2024.

Send applications to the Chapter Young Professional Representative Aubree Decoteau.

Do you have a timely & informative topic that would be of interest to the South Carolina Solid Waste Community that you would like to present at the Spring 2023 conference?  If so, submit an abstract describing the topic to: info@scswana.org by February 28th!

The Spring Conference is May 15 - 17, 2024 at the Hilton DoubleTree in Myrtle Beach, SC.  

Further details will be posted in March 2024.

The Careers page has been updated. 

Check out the open positions.

What is SWANA's Strategic Plan for the future?

This 9-minute video provides an overview of the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan

Each year at SWANA WasteCon, awards are given to SWANA members who have been nominated by their peers for these categories:

• Distinguished Service
• Life Member
• Professional Achievement

Marica Papin, Solid Waste Director for Greenville County, received the Life Member Award at WasteCon on November 2 in Orlando. The criteria for this award is based on length of service, contributions and commitment to SWANA; superior commitment and service to their employer; long-term involvement in the solid waste management, and significant contributions to the field of solid waste management.

SCDHEC has not yet completed a draft of the proposed New Regulation R.61-107.20 Solid Waste Management: Construction and Demolition Debris Processing and Recycling.

A proposed regulation and opportunity for comment will be provided at a later date.

The Notice of Proposed Regulation was published in the State Register on Friday, October 23, 2020: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/state_register.php. The full text of this regulation is available on the South Carolina General Assembly Home Page: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/regnsrch.php (Document 5003). Full text may also be obtained from the promulgating agency. 

Interested persons may submit comment(s) on the proposed amendments to Jana White of the Bureau of Land and Waste Management; S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, S.C. 29201; whitejm@dhec.sc.gov. To be considered, the Department must receive the comment(s) by 5:00 p.m. on November 23, 2020, the close of the comment period.

SWANA received a very nice letter from the Maryland Governor Larry Hogan recognizing the industry (and SWANA) for their “tireless efforts” during the pandemic.  Governor Hogan is the chair of the National Governors Association.

The letter can be found here.

SWANA Chapters allow you localized access with like-minded professionals. By becoming active in your chapter, you have opportunities to use your voice to influence local policies and increase your involvement with your community. SWANA Chapters provide outstanding leadership opportunities. 

The SC Chapter has a few seconds of fame in this 2 minute video about  involvement with your local chapter:

• Chapter Board,
• Spring Conference Group Photo,
• Beaufort County Recycling Coordinator (Ashley Jenkins)

FROM:                  Jesse Maxwell, Advocacy & Safety Senior Manager, SWANA

TO:                        SWANA Chapter Safety Ambassadors; Safety Committee

DATE:                   April 27, 2020

SUBJECT:             SWANA & Glad Sanitation Workers Support Fund

 

SWANA today announced our partnership with Glad, maker of trash bags and plastic food storage containers, to establish a Sanitation Workers Support Fund to provide financial assistance to front-line solid waste and recycling collection workers in the United States and Canada adversely impacted by COVID-19. Glad has generously provided $200,000 to the Fund, to be administered and distributed by SWANA. We ask that you please share this information within the Chapter and via any other appropriate networks. The application website is available here.

 

Front-line solid waste and recycling collection workers will potentially qualify for assistance if they: (1) have tested positive for COVID-19; (2) were laid off because of COVID-19 and continue to be unemployed; or (3) if an immediate family member was a front-line solid waste or recycling collection worker and passed away as a result of the coronavirus. Individuals directly impacted by COVID-19 by testing positive for the coronavirus or who lost their job due to the coronavirus and are currently unemployed can receive US $500. Immediate family members (spouse or minor children) of a solid waste and recycling collection worker who died due to COVID-19 can receive US $2,500.

 

SWANA will begin accepting applications to the Fund on May 1, 2020. Applications will be processed on a rolling basis and will be accepted until the fund is depleted. According to published reports, hundreds of solid waste collection workers in the United States and Canada will be eligible for the fund. There will be a limit on the number of applications approved from any specific state, province, or country, to ensure funds are distributed in an equitable manner across different locations. SWANA membership is not required to be accepted as a recipient.

 

You can check out the FAQs about the Fund if you have any questions. Anything not addressed there can be sent to covid19fund@swana.org.

 

Glad’s contribution is part of their broader effort thanking sanitation workers for the essential work they are doing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Glad will be running advertising on broadcast media throughout the United States beginning May 6, and social media ads are expected to start later this week.