Volume 13, Issue 3  •  Fall 2005

We Trained. We Learned. We Grew.

MRC & SWANA's Mid-Atlantic 1st Joint Conference Recap

MRC & SWANA’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s 1^st Joint Conference on June 8 and 9 was the most successful conference MRC has held to date. There were 14 sponsors and 15 exhibitors. MRC had a net revenue of approximately $23,000. The conference was well attended, with roughly 100 people over both days. Many of the session presentations from the conference can be found online at www.marylandrecyclers.org.

The Awards

This was the 13^th year that MRC recognized exemplary programs in Maryland. The Outstanding Environmental and Community Leadership Award went to the Sierra Student Coalition at Frostburg State University. The Sierra Student Coalition revitalized the school’s dwindling campus recycling program and raised money to purchase recycling bins for students to use.

The Extraordinary Achievement Award went to Anne Arundel County’s Department of Public Works, Waste Management Services for increasing efficiency by compacting recyclables.

The Best Market Development Program Award went to the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority for its comprehensive media campaign to increase commercial recycling.

Conference Evaluations (Some Highlights)

When asked to give an overall grade to the conference, 61% of participants gave it a “B,” 22% gave it an “A,” and 17% gave it a “C.” In regards to the CCBC Catonsville location, 50% gave it a “B,” 19% gave it an “A,” and 28% gave it a “C.” Some of the comments that participants offered include: “Consider two entire days or even longer so that sessions are not concurrent;” “It was important to bring SWANA and MRC together;” “Looking forward to a new location for next year;” “Consider a double food line for the lunches to speed up the wait time;” and “I would like to see more silent auction items.” When asked what did participants like best about the conference, the most frequent response was networking opportunities, followed by a few respondents indicating they really enjoyed the Hoot & Holler session. For the question of what did they like least about the conference, the most frequent response was hot classrooms.

Many survey participants gave suggestions on what topics or speakers they would like to see at the next conference, including social marketing, financial tools for waste managers, someone from MDE or the EPA to talk about tightening environmental regulations, grant money (and how to get it), gas and energy issues, and a survey of Maryland’s jurisdictions’ collection/recycling/disposal costs so attendees can compare. Also, one respondent suggested MRC welcome award nominations year round so that when someone notices something noteworthy a nomination can be sent in.

If you would like to view the complete survey results, please email Kaymie Thompson Owen at kaymie@ksgroup.org.

Looking Ahead

Planning has already begun for the 2006 conference. MRC will join forces again with SWANA’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter, holding its 2^nd Annual Joint Conference. There has been discussion of changing the venue from CCBC Catonsville, and the conference dates are still flexible. More details to come!