The Washington Evergreen Chapter of SWANA was formed in 1971, after the older Pacific Northwest chapter became large enough to support individual chapters for Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.  Membership has grown since then to approximately 200 members today from all ranks of the solid waste management community, and every corner of the State of Washington.  Government (local and state) and private-sector waste management industry are well-represented in our membership and on our board of directors.

How does our chapter benefit its members by furthering the goals of SWANA, which are to Educate, Innovate, and Communicate?

Educate:
Scholarships: The Washington Evergreen Chapter each year awards the Deborah Lambert memorial scholarships to deserving children and grandchildren of members.  Larger awards are made to those majoring in environmental or waste management fields.  For more information and how to apply, go to our scholarship page.  
MOLO: SWANA provides courses and certification for Managers of Landfill Operations (MOLO).  Our chapter typically sponsors at least one MOLO course per year (see Calendar).  The State of Washington recognizes the MOLO training as meeting the requirements for landfill manager training required for landfill operator licensing.  For more information on MOLO, go to the SWANA Headquarters MOLO page.

Innovate:
Technical meetings: Many of the top technical innovators in the field of solid waste management are active in SWANA.  Each year our chapter recruits panels of experts to lead several technical meetings on topics of current interest, at different locations around the state.  For more information on upcoming technical meetings, go to Technical Programs and Training.

Communicate:
NW Symposium: Each year (generally in April) the Washington, Oregon and British Columbia chapters hold a joint Northwest Symposium, where members come to exchange information, socialize, and learn from each other and technical experts. In 2010, we are doing something different: the NW Symposium will be hosted by the Alaska Chapter, in Anchorage May 5-7.  Planning is currently underway.  For more info, visit the Alaska Chapter web site at www.swana-alaska.org. 

The 2009 NW Symposium was hosted by the British Columbia Pacific Chapter.  For more information, visit www.swanabc.org.

The 2008 NW Symposium was held April 17 and 18 at McMenamin's Edgefield near Portland. For more information on the 2008 NW Symposium, including downloads of the Symposium presentation materials, please visit the Oregon Beaver Chapter website.

For more information on the 2007 NW Symposium, go to Past NW Symposiums.

The activities listed above are only those that are directly sponsored by the local Washington Evergreen Chapter.  SWANA has many other activities that you can find out about at www.swana.org. 

Not a member yet?  What are you waiting for?  Go to the membership page and join up!

Feel free to contact any of our officers or committee chairs: go to the officers’ and committee page for more information.