The term "Change" gets lots of play in today's parlance. You hear about change in a political context, in business communications and in social discourse. We adults know that change touches all aspects of life all the time, but an element of change that I find interesting is that most times it occurs incrementally. Often 'change' occurs so gradually we don't even notice it. Take your kids for example... usually it's not until the holidays when a relative tells you how much your kids have grown up that you even notice there was a change... a significant, fundamentally profound change. You may have missed it...more likely just weren't cognizant of it because you're around your kinds all the time and the change came gradually.
And so it is with the Waste Industry. Change is occurring all around us all the time. But because it's incremental, it may not seem to many people that things are changing that much...
From the… County Dump to Renewable Resources
In the 70's, we didn't have "sanitary landfills" or materials recovery facilities (MRF's). We had the county dump. Waste was something best left out of sight and out of mind. Then came the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) that set national standards for the handling and processing of waste and the business became much more complicated, expensive, environmentally benign and well managed. Essentially government is the impetus that has set us on the path we are now on, constantly pursuing new, more efficient and more beneficial ways to use our waste by-products. I believe in the not-to-distant future waste will be viewed as a resource and there will be competition to claim ownership of it.
It's already happening in some places. Smart people found ways to capture the methane gas, which is a by-product of waste decomposition, and run it through engines or turbines and turn a Green House Gas into electricity. Across the globe there are countless research projects to develop new methods to more fully capture the latent energy potential of waste.
From… Big Iron to Technology
Another good example of the change that's occurring yet we may be missing (unaware of) is to think back 10 to 20 years or so ago and remember the professional Waste Industry Trade Shows you might have attended. Chances are very high that if you visited the big suppliers to the waste industry at a trade show in the ‘80s or ‘90s, what you found was exhibit after exhibit of brand new, shiny equipment...all kinds of equipment. They were definitely equipment shows. Contrast that to a Waste Trade Show today, where a good 30 - 40% of the floor space will be devoted to promoting "services" or "technologies" created to make waste operations more efficient and profitable, in a much smaller footprint.
From… Pounding Stakes to Satellite Communication
To the uninformed, the waste industry appears unsophisticated, low tech and low skilled. But, in fact it's exactly the opposite. Today’s operator of a landfill compactor could have more technology, more electronics, and more information at his/her fingertips inside the cab than the first Lunar Landing Module (I'm not entirely sure that's exactly true - but close and you get the point). Real time data from the machine about how it's running gets transmitted to a central office to plan maintenance and repairs at convenient times; performance data about compaction and machine location get beamed from earth orbiting satellites to the machine. Machine operators can create new waste cells...cut and fill areas exactly to design specifications without ever leaving the cab, calling a surveyor and pounding in (or running over) a stake.
From… ??? to BLOGS
I suppose one more good example of change in the industry is that I...a young man in his 60's would be using something called "social media" to exchange ideas with other industry professionals. My kids will be impressedA good portion of my job responsibility is to understand the industry...the drivers and the nuances, and understand where it is going...what processes, techniques, technologies and equipment will be needed tomorrow. It is to better understand these implications that I write this blog today.
No matter where in the world you might be and no matter what segment of the waste industry you work in, I invite you to share with me your thoughts, experiences and opinions. I promise you...it won't be time wasted!
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