Volume 16 | January 2023

SWANA Old Dominion News

President's Message

Happy New Year!

As 2023 begins, the Old Dominion Chapter begins with new Officers and Directors. I would like to welcome longtime SWANA members Bob Hundley (Resource International) and Rob Clendenin (Waste Mangement) to the SWANA Board. New officers include Nick Guarriello as Secretary and Tim Torrez was appointed Chapter Delegate.

The Training Committee is meeting this month to plan educational sessions for 2023 so if you have topics you would like to see covered, you can email Mike Lawless at [email protected].

We are also looking forward to meeting with our fellow Region 6 states for the next Regional Conference which will be hosted by South Carolina August 29 - September 1 in Greenville, SC.

I look forward to working with our Board of Directors and members this year on new and continuing initiatives for the chapter.

Jon Clary, SWANA Old Dominion Chapter President

Upcoming Training Events

Visit the Training Page

SWANA Webinars

The Old Dominion Chapter has pre-paid for our members to view SWANA National webinars.

Register for webinars online at SWANA.org. Enter the Chapter’s Debit Card Code at the time of registration. Code: VIRGINIA

Recorded Chapter Webinars

Check out the recorded SWANA Old Dominion webinars on our Past Trainings page. After viewing a webinar, email [email protected] to request a CEU.

Technical Tours

Freestate Farms Balls Ford Road Compost Facility and Republic Services Manassas Recycling Center

April 26 at 10:00 am

More Details and Registration: SWANA Old Dominion Chapter - Training (swanava.org)

Save the Date

Region 6 Conference

In 2023 the Old Dominion chapter will have a combined conference with the Region 6 states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky).

August 29 – September 1, 2023

Greenville, SC

Waste Management CNG Facility Hosts SWANA Technical Tour

On November 4, SWANA coordinated a tour of the largest compressed natural gas truck fleet of its kind in North America. WM’s Hampton Roads Hauling has 53 compressed natural gas trucks servicing consumers. For every diesel-powered truck they replace with natural gas, annual fuel used is reduced by an average of 8,000 gallons, an equivalent of 14 metric tons of GHG.

The Chesapeake facility has a formal Environmental Management Program to integrate environmental policies throughout operations.

During the tour, WM will showed the CNG compound, the shop, as well as the K-Rail where they fuel their trucks.

Legislative Update

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023

Website: http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Session convenes January 11th and adjourns February 25th (short session year)

Last day to prefile bills and resolutions – January 11th

Budget amendments due to finance – January 13th

Last day to file bills and resolutions – January 20th

Crossover day – February 8th • Adjournment – February 25th

Legislation of Interest to Solid Waste

EPA Offers Grants for Environmental Justice Projects

EPA's EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding for eligible applicants for projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community. The EJCPS Program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships to help them understand and address environmental and public health concerns in their communities.

Environmental Justice Grants, Funding and Technical Assistance | US EPA

2023 - 2024 Directors

The SWANA Old Dominion chapter has 9 Board of Directors who are approved in staggered terms (five this year and 4 next year).

The following five Directors were approved in December to serve two-year terms beginning January 1, 2023 and ending December 31, 2024.

Robert Hundley, Project Manager, Resource International

Coryn Giordano, Project Manager, Carlson Environmental Consultants, PC

Eric Forbes, Director of Engineering and Environmental Compliance, Fairfax County

Kate Vasquez, Director, Planning and Advisory Services – Solid Waste, RRT Design & Construction

Robert E. Clendenin, Public Sector Representative III, Waste Management

Visit the website to meet our full Board of Directors and Officers.

2023 - 2024 Officers

President- Jon Clary, Henrico County

Vice President- Mike Lawless, TRC Companies

Secretary- Nick Guarriello, Carlson Environmental Consultants

Treasurer- Kim Hynes, Central Virginia Waste Mangement Authority

Chapter Delegate- Tim Torrez, Republic Services

Immediate Past President- Aaron White, HDR

Welcome New Members

William Lamie, City of Bristol

Xiaojue Chen

Tavon Hunter

Dustin Pickering, QED Environmental Systems, Inc.

2021 U.S. BLS Fatality Report

The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2021 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries showing refuse and recyclable materials collection was the seventh-deadliest job that year, down from sixth in 2020. The workplace fatality rate for this group was 27.9 fatal work injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2021 compared to 33.1 in 2020.

This reduction in worker fatalities corresponds with SWANA’s 2021 report that showed a nearly 50 percent drop from 2020. The BLS 2021 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) released in November also showed historically low injury and illness rates for collection, landfill, and MRF workers. SWANA’s data for 2022 is unfortunately showing a return to higher levels of worker fatalities, suggesting that the drop in 2021 might be an aberration due to the pandemic.