THURSDAY, February 26th

KEYNOTE - 9:00 - 10:00am 

• Jenna Piché

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TRACK SESSION I - 10:45 - 11:45am

• Managing Your MRF More Efficiently with AI and Data (Katherine Nellis, Everest Labs) 

  • As MRFs face increasing pressures to improve resource recovery, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful tool to drive efficiency, insight, and profitability. This session will explore the transformative role it plays in modern operations, from providing visibility into plant operations and performance to automating sorting systems. 

• Permitting from the Ground Up: Strategies and Community Engagement for Greenfield Development (Allison Rathsack, Dane County Waste + Renewables)​

  • Learn how one Wisconsin municipality successfully navigated greenfield permitting across from an existing landfill, emphasizing community engagement, public transparency, and plans to offer a community-focused hub for education, resource recovery, and circular economy initiatives, collectively called the Sustainability Campus.

• Small Devices, Big Impact: Local Solutions for Addressing Vape Waste (John Peralta, Marathon County Solid Waste; Courtney Tvedten, MPH, CHES, Marathon County Health Department)

  • Learn how Marathon County is addressing the growing issue of disposable vape waste—first driven largely by products confiscated in local schools, then evolved into a multi-county effort for vape disposal in several communities. This session highlights local solutions, community partnerships, and actionable steps taken to tackle the environmental, public health, and waste facility staff challenges from improper vape product disposal. 

TRACK SESSION II - 2:30 - 3:30pm 

• Simple Lessons, Lasting Impact: The ABCs of Recycling Right (Kelly Reyer, Winnebago County Solid Waste Management; Jordan Hiller, Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste)

  • Discover how The ABC’s of Recycling Right brings consistent, accurate recycling education back into schools while offering practical, ready-to-use lesson ideas that extend learning from the classroom to the community.

• Putting the Pieces Back Together Again -- Columbia County Solid Waste Department (Michael Ettner & Gabrielle Romenesko, Foth Infrastructure & Environment)

  • What if your solid waste or materials recovery facility experienced a fire or sudden shutdown? This presentation shares how one local municipality overcame such a crisis—restoring operations through strategic planning, collaboration, and resilience.

• Do You Know Your Succession Plan? (William Nicholson, HDR Engineering)

  • Develop a succession plan roadmap for organizational transition by collaborating with their staff, board of directors, and national experts. 

TRACK SESSION III - 3:45 - 4:45pm 

• Take Charge: Watt to do with Batteries (Kenneth Miller, Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency)

  • This presentation will focus on the DMASWA's Battery Drop collection program, which utilizes customized collection units, and a mass marketing campaign to collect batteries and battery containing devices (and cord/cables too). 

• Landfill to Landscape: Lessons from Dane County's Native Prairie Cap (Wyeth Augustine-Marceil, Alejandra Viso, & Allison Rathsack, Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables)

  • Dane County established Wisconsin’s first native prairie landfill cap on approximately 40 acres in 2018. This session shares lessons from permitting through long-term maintenance, highlights habitat and community benefits, and previews early soil carbon testing results - providing practical guidance for entities considering alternative landfill covers.

• ​Material Recycling Facility Planning/Expansion (Douglas Allen, Tetra Tech)

  • This presentation discusses strategies and considerations for how to approach the planning and expansion of citizen drop-off and commercial MRF facilities.   The presentation will touch upon topic such as citizen surveys, throughput and geometric planning considerations.