Solid Waste Association of North America

For more than 50 years, The Solid Waste Association of North America, (SWANA) has been the leading professional association in the solid waste management field. SWANA is an organization of professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management. The association serves more than 8,300 members throughout North America, and thousands more with conferences, certifications publications and technical training courses.

Organization History

In 1961 a small group of local government solid waste program supervisors in the Los Angeles, California, basin formed the Governmental Refuse Collection and Disposal Association (GRCDA) to provide a means for solid waste professionals to share information and promote training.

By 1978, GRCDA had grown to about 900 members in 10 chapters in various western states and parts of Canada and hired its first Executive Director, Lanny Hickman. July 1 of that year, GRCDA established its first permanent office at 16th & K. Street, NW. In the summer of 1981, GRCDA moved their offices to Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, In 1992, GRCDA changed its name to the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) to reflect how the field had broadened from refuse collection and disposal to all aspects of municipal solid waste management. When Lanny Hickman retired in 1996, John H. Skinner, Ph.D., was selected as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer. Skinner retired in April 2015, and has been succeeded by David Biderman.