Zero Waste Principles & Practices Training Course

Las Vegas, NV

Wednesday, February 9 - Friday, February 11, 2022
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time

The Zero Waste Principles & Practices course helps you create a plan for achieving zero waste that works for your community. Learn how to infuse zero waste concepts and practices into your programs, communications and community engagement, and access new partners and funding to help you reach your new waste-reduction goals.

Objectives

As a result of this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe the components of a Zero Waste System
  • Evaluate waste composition data to determine what materials could be prevented, reduced, reused, recycled, or composted
  • Describe the flow of materials over their entire lifecycle
  • Prepare a Zero Waste collection system
  • Describe options for residential Zero Waste collection systems
  • Describe options for commercial Zero Waste management systems
  • Evaluate markets for recovered materials
  • Discuss the types of technologies available to process organic materials
  • Describe Zero Waste management of challenging material types
  • Set up and run a Zero Waste event
  • Design a behavior change program
  • Describe the options for program funding
  • Develop contracts that assist in achieving Zero Waste goals

Content

The Zero Waste Principles & Practices course encompasses a broad overview of Zero Waste principles and practices in 10 modules covering public policy, programs, technology, and measurement.

  • Introduction to Zero Waste, including a survey of different definitions and perspectives
  • What’s In Your Waste Stream?
  • Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream
  • Collections Options
  • Processing Technology Options
  • Managing Organics
  • Public Venues and Challenging Materials
  • Changing Behavior through Education and Outreach
  • Financing and Funding
  • Contracting and Partnerships

Format

The course will be presented as a live, in-person learning event led by a SWANA-certified faculty instructor.

Location & Hotel Reservations

Tuscany Suites & Casino
255 E. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89169

Click here to secure a hotel reservation »

COVID-19 Information

Currently, Las Vegas mandates mask-wearing indoors at all times for vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. SWANA will uphold the mandate.  

As such, SWANA expects its instructors, students, and staff to comply with the local requirements, and will remind students of the mandate throughout the program. 

Materials

The course includes the Zero Waste Principles & Practices course manual.

Continuing Education Credit

Upon completion of the course, SWANA awards participants 30 continuing education credits.

Who Should Attend

This course is ideal for collection system owners, operators, managers, system planners, and employees responsible for collection system operations management.

Faculty

Robert Hilton
President
HF&H Consultants
Rob Hilton is the President of HF&H. Since 2002, he has provided a wide range of consulting services on more than 500 projects for more than 150 public agencies. Hilton leads HF&H’s contracting team in support of more than a dozen communities each year that are either competitively procuring or negotiating solid waste collection, processing, and/or disposal contracts. Additionally, he has assisted communities throughout the state in the process of developing strategic plans to achieve their high diversion or zero waste goals. Rob has presented several papers to industry organizations on the subject of how to develop sustainable funding strategies that support zero waste systems.

From 2014 to 2017, Hilton served as the President of the Board of Directors of the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). He earned a BA in Political Science / Public Administration from the University of California, Davis.
Robert Hilton
Philip Mainolfi
Senior Project Manager
HF&H Consultants
Philip Mainolfi brings more than 13 years of prior financial, accounting, and process automation experience, and seven years of diverse experience in the solid waste industry. While in the private sector, he spent three years managing solid waste contract compliance for 46 municipalities and government agencies, developing financial models, automating financial reporting processes, designing and developing management reporting tools, and managing external audits. Mainolfi received invaluable insight into hauler/processor operations, zero waste planning, and public outreach. Prior to entering the solid waste industry, he spent four years as a business analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman where he focused on process automation, procedure development, and the implementation of a centralized data ecosystem.
Philip Mainolfi

The Zero Waste Principles & Practices certification course is a joint undertaking of SWANA and the California Resource Recovery Association. CRRA is dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability in and beyond California through Zero Waste strategies. SWANA, with its work in 47 chapters across the United States and Canada, is committed to educating professionals working in the industry and to moving the industry as a whole from a focus on solid waste management to resource management.