In 1962, six sanitation workers in southern California incorporated an effort to share information on solid waste practices, notably safety. They called it the Governmental Refuse Collection and Disposal Association (GRCDA). There was no thought at the time of creating chapters. But word of its existence caught on and its influence spread to where it is today: a North American membership association of 44 chapters engaged in education, training, certification, and advocacy.
The following is a decade-by-decade chronology of its chapters, governance and technology. History from the early years with respect to chapters is spotty and in some cases, missing, with early chapter formation dates in some cases being estimates.
The 1960s
The Southern California group would form in 1962 and become what would be known as GRCDA’s first chapter. Years later, in 1987, it would change its name to the GRCDA Southern California Founding Chapter.
In 1964, the GRCDA Northern-Central Chapter formed and was dissolved the next year. The Northern California Gold Rush chapter is believed to have started in 1965; the Central California Sierra chapter formed in 1966. The Washington chapter was chartered in 1969.
The 1970s
Six years later, GRCDA experienced more growth on the Pacific Coast with the chartering of the Oregon Beaver chapter in 1975.
Additionally, British Columbia (Pacific), Canadian Prairie (Northern Lights), Utah (Beehive), New Mexico Roadrunner, Oklahoma (Indian Nations), Arizona, and Florida chapters came into being in this decade.
As GRCDA grew, governance became a more significant issue. To meet those needs, the International Executive Committee (EC) and International Board of Directors (IB) were created.
GRCDA grew from a West Coast association totally staffed by volunteers to an international association with a staff to serve as stewards of GRCDA for the benefit of its membership.
The Executive Committee consisted of the officers, past president, two directors and two corporate directors elected by the corporate members and met three times annually. Bylaws were amended during 1979 to add the Seminar Chairman to the Executive Committee effective in 1980.
The International Board of Directors met midyear and included the officers in addition to eight directors from the public sector and six directors from the private sector.
Key management issues were addressed in 1979. Prompted by the Executive Committee, GRCDA established a schedule of accounts to manage the finances of the organization and began to keep a portion of its funds in interest-bearing accounts.
GRCDA pursued nonprofit status as a 501c3 to reflect its mission of research and education.
An awards program was established to honor exemplary industry operations.
GRCDA began advocacy efforts, making comments on proposed Noise and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations.
Three technical committees were formed at this time.
The Land Disposal Committee addressed both sanitary landfill and landfill-gas management issues and over time was subdivided into a Landfill Management Division and Landfill Gas Management Division.
The Hazardous Waste Committee addressed household hazardous wastes and small-quantity hazardous waste generators and over time morphed into becoming part of the Recycling and Special Wastes Division.
The Resource Recovery Committee addressed both materials recovery and waste-to-energy (WTE) and ultimately subdivided into a Waste-to-Energy Division and Recycling and Special Wastes Division.
The executive director submitted a proposal for an application to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a training, technical assistance, and information dissemination grant.
GRCDA had a number of committees-mostly technical-that had been functioning since the organization’s inception. Many were single-output committees and did not continue over the years. Over time, permanent technical committees became technical divisions.
In 1979, committees performed various tasks, although some of them did not yield many results. Those that did included equipment survey, which determined what types of collection, transfer and disposal equipment was being purchased and used by GRCDA members, an effort to increase sales of exhibit space at the annual meeting.
The Chapter Manual Committee developed a “how to” on organizing, planning and operating a GRCDA chapter. This output was to include a process for establishing a new chapter, model bylaws, and meetings techniques, among other factors. It was developed and used in a variety of ways by chapters.
Many of the organizational problems between GRCDA and its chapters were based on the lack of a set of rules or guidelines developed to define the relationships between GRCDA and its chapters. The emergence of the affiliation agreements during this time period did a great deal to improve the culture between the parent organization and its chapters.
The Management Plan Committee created a document to address GRCDA management and operations. It evolved over the years, and while it served to guide the establishment, growth, and operations of the central office, it was not perceived to have worked well for the interaction between the central office and the chapters.
At the end of 1979, Executive Director Lanny Hickman was in negotiations with the EPA to assist the agency in technical assistance, training, and information dissemination.
The 1980s
Chapters emerging during this decade include Illinois Land of Lincoln, Texas Lone Star, Minnesota (Land of Lakes), New Jersey, Virginia (Old Dominion), Alabama, Georgia, Alaska (Great Lands), Ohio (Buckeye), Michigan (Great Lakes), Colorado (Rocky Mountain) North Carolina, Ontario, Pennsylvania (Keystone), Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and South Carolina.
One of the first meetings of the Iowa-Nebraska chapter was inspired by Cindy Turkle who was serving as president of the Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations.
The Iowa-Nebraska Chapter grew for seven years until 1988, when it separated into two chapters: Nebraska (later renamed Nebraska Cornhusker) and Iowa (Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operators).
In the 1980s, the Louisiana chapter came onboard, but its status was suspended in 1984 for nonpayment of dues and failure to comply with chapter status requirements.
In 1983, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter-representing Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia-was granted provisional status.
As GRCDA grew, so did its governing body and practices.
Policy development proceeded on an as-needed basis until 1983, when a formal set of policies and procedures for the development of association policies was instituted.
Officer positions were not open to private sector members, so officers who left public service for private entities had to resign. The executive director’s contract was extended from 12 to 18 months. Agreements were made to produce a trade journal; the initial agreement was with Waste Age magazine.
GRCDA authorized the development of a policy manual to help structure its management and organization and codify policy and technical decisions.
The association secretary was charged with the responsibility of maintaining a record of policy decisions. Hickman recommended that chapter presidents be used as the review group for proposed policies, with the Executive Committee concurring.
Planning was under way for the first show east of the Mississippi, with the Marriott in Orlando, FL, chosen as the site for 1984.
A revised five-year plan was approved through 1985, with the key goals being having a full-time executive director, administrative assistant, and secretary; publication of the proceedings of the Annual Seminar and Equipment Show; development of a human resources and technical information and retrieval system; promoting the growth of the association to its 25 chapters; expanding attendance to the Annual Seminar and Equipment Show; and sponsoring 15 GRCDA training presentations per year.
By spring 1981, GRCDA had experienced more growth with the need for increased staff responsibilities. Hickman considered several options, with the most viable one being a move to a suburban location with close access to Washington DC’s mass transit system for easy means to get downtown.
With money saved in rent, the association hired an administrative officer in addition to the part-time secretary/clerk to help with increased responsibilities and moved its offices to Silver Spring, MD, in early 1982.
Meanwhile, on a part-time basis using gratis office space at Hickman’s home, Kay Hickman took on the responsibilities of printing and mailing the newsletter and handling registration for the international seminar and equipment show.
GRCDA had to find new office space a few years later when the owner of the row of offices sold the property with the existing buildings razed and replaced it with a high-rise office building. The Executive Committee approved a move of the GRCDA International Headquarters to Georgian Towers in Silver Spring, MD.
Increased space was needed to accommodate staff growth with new EPA grants and contracts on the horizon. A part-time support employee was hired. The GRCDA international offices make a conversion to computers and networking.
By the end of 1982, a number of financial management practices were in place, including a general and administrative account, a convention account, and a special account for contracts, grants, expenses, and income.
A first variable account was in Washington DC for investment funds. An international account was based in Sacramento, CA, and managed by the treasurer. The executive director continued to transfer money to the treasurer as the international account was under the control of the Executive Committee, not the executive director. The headquarters’ accounting procedures were now being reported on a project basis.
In spring 1982, the growth of GRCDA appeared to necessitate legal assistance with such issues as the liability potential between the association and its chapters. An association legal counsel was hired: Barry Shanoff, who serves to this day.
Also in 1982, the idea of changing the organization’s name to be more reflective of the association and the field of solid waste management began to surface, but got little support.
In 1983, the International Board of Directors transitioned to its new configuration, with each chapter electing a representative to the International Board with the designation of chapter director. The number of corporate directors remained at six.
GRCDA created a new membership category-Agency for Government Solid Waste Agencies-allowing employees of an agency member to join at a lesser rate. Another category to emerge: Honorary/Lifetime.
GRCDA’s presence began to extend to such annual meetings as the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties. Also that year, the GRCDA trademark was approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
In 1983, model chapter bylaws were developed to assist new chapter formation and existing chapters to bring their operations more in alignment with the overall GRCDA activities and programs.
Chapters were included as partners in the implementation of the policy to promote certification of landfill managers. Chapters also began the custom of adding a cultural/geographic/historic descriptor to their state/provincial title.
When GRCDA spun off from the original three California chapters, the annual seminar and equipment show went with the national GRCDA, as did the show’s income.
This led to the development of the Western Symposium, a joint partnership of the three California chapters, which led to other regional symposia. Nurtured to some degree by GRCDA’s International Board, the Executive Committee and GRCDA staff, several regional chapter and GRCDA partnerships were formed.
Ground rules were established to limit overlapping states and interference with the annual GRCDA International Seminary and Equipment Show.
The Florida Sunshine chapter also hosted the GRCDA’s 1984 annual exposition and first international truck Road-E-O in Orlando.
Lawrence Lecture guidelines for selection of the lecturer were approved, opening the door for the first Lawrence Lecturer in 1985. The Lawrence Lecture trust fund moved into an income-financing financial instrument.
By 1987, GRCDA membership reached 2,700. A dues increase effective fiscal year 1988 was approved by the International Board. Successful pilot testing resulted in full centralization of membership dues collection.
Lori Swain joined GRCDA in 1987 as a program analyst to work on the EPA-funded small-quantity hazardous waste generator program, bringing to the table years of experience in environmental work as well as a master’s degree in environmental science and communications.
Planning was under way to make some major changes in GRCDA’s structure and organization. Major amendments to the bylaws were planned for consideration by the Executive Committee and International Board in 1989. The establishment of technical divisions was under way.
In 1988, GRCDA actively recruited a marketing and sales manager who would have major responsibilities for the equipment show and GRCDA promotion.
Also that year, the GRCDA became a sponsor of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.
During 1989, GRCDA experienced a 20% increase to 4,016 members. Of the 680 new members; 75 were employed in the government sector and 25% were employed in the private sector.
In 1989, two regional symposia were in place, the Eastern Regional Symposia-a partnership of the Mid-Atlantic, Pennsylvania and Virginia chapters-and the Southeastern Regional Symposium, a partnership of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.
During this decade, GRCDA headquarters put into place staff resources to assist chapters in legislation/regulatory issues with their states and provinces, technical assistance on meetings, assistance to bring speakers to their meetings, and use of the library and other data sources in the association.
A training program was developed for orientation to assist new International Board members as they began their term on the International Board and Executive Committee.
Funds were authorized for the purchase of a word processor, GRCDA’s first step into the computer world.
A $100,000 term life insurance policy on the executive director was put into place with GRCDA as the beneficiary. Additionally, a plan for management of the association in the event of the death of an executive director and search procedures to select a new executive director was under development.
Upon Hickman’s recommendation, the Executive Committee explored the concept of regionalizing the International Board. Another concept developed enabling each chapter to elect a director to the International Board to serve two-year renewable terms; the initial first terms would be staggered and decided by lottery.
Groundwork was laid to begin a process to determine the liabilities of the association from acts by the chapters and by the International Board.
As the association moved seriously into technical symposia, cooperative meeting efforts with the chapters, and support of meetings in grants and contacts, Kay Hickman was designated meetings manager to provide complete meetings management services to GRCDA. Her style was viewed as offering both a warm, personal touch to the process of meetings and no-nonsense dealings with venues used by the association.
The planned awards program was under way, including Professional Achievement Awards for regular and sustaining members, a Chapter Achievement Award, a Past International President’s Award, and a Distinguished Service Award. The awards banquet was added on the Thursday of the International Seminar and Equipment Show.
A number of modifications to the association’s bylaws were approved by the International Board, including a change in the Executive Committee to include president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, past president, one corporate director selected by the International Board corporate directors, an International Seminar Chair, and an International Equipment Show Chair.
The six International Board corporate directors represented the following areas of GRCDA interest: contract solid waste management systems services, manufacturing of solid waste management equipment and systems, sales of solid waste management equipment and systems, resource recovery/landfill gas recovery systems, financing of solid waste management systems, and solid waste management consulting services.
The International Board took steps to obtain nonprofit 501c3 status for GRCDA US chapters, with similar arrangements for the Canadian chapters
explored.
To accommodate the growth of regional symposia and the annual seminar and equipment show, the Executive Committee adopted a policy requiring show dates for regional symposia to be approved by the International Board. No regional symposia were to be held within 1,000 miles of the International Show or within five months of the International Show dates and no chapters hosting the International Show could also host a regional program.
A rotation policy was adopted for the International Seminar and Equipment Show-North America was divided into three zones and the show would be rotated through each zone.
The Grant Scholarship program was approved by the International Board, with the Executive Director instructed to develop funding and an operating plan.
After several years of discussion by the International Board and within the chapters, the International Board voted at its annual business meeting to regionalize the association’s governance and management structure into five regions.
Regionalization brought a number of changes in how GRCDA governed and managed its association activities. The midyear meeting of the International Board was no longer held, replaced by each of the five regional councils’ own meetings, where agenda items from GRCDA as well as regional items would be addressed.
Each regional council would choose a regional director to plan, organize, and manage its regional council and meeting. The regional council directors became a member of the GRCDA Executive Committee, thereby giving greater input into GRCDA management.
The regional structure also enabled the establishment of regional symposia if the chapters chose to host them.
Throughout the 1980s, GRCDA had been developing certification and training programs and also establishing a number of regional-based symposia. Faculty members included GRCDA members and staff. A training and certification event consisted of one staff member to teach and handle the logistics of the course and two GRCDA members certified in the subject being taught.
Early efforts leading to the creation of the Landfill Operators Training and Certification Program began with the introduction of the certification concept.
A GRCDA survey showed that states were supportive of the need for landfill operator training and landfill operator certification, but were not prepared to attempt to establish the necessary infrastructure to do either.
While certification by GRCDA had no legal or regulatory basis, its certification would help achieve some of the goals of a certification program, such as job/work pride, demonstration of professional qualifications, and improved skills.
GRCDA would make it known that the association was a training organization, not a certifying organization. The goal of the program was to create a recognized training effort that would result in operators with demonstrated excellence in operating a sanitary landfill to meet state and federal EPA sanitary landfill guidelines and regulations.
It was assumed that in time, the merits of certification would be recognized by state agencies and certification by state agencies would become the norm. In the interim, GRCDA would certify successful candidates based on established criteria for the training and certification program.
Where a state established a certification program, GRCDA would not issue certificates to candidates in that state, but wanted its training program designated as a qualified training program for certification in that state.
GRCDA established the Manager of Landfill Operations program (MOLO). The association agreed to provide training and certification for the proper operation and management of a municipal solid waste sanitary landfill.
The association also established that sanitary landfills must have a certified manager of landfill operations on site at all times. The landfill manager must have responsibility for compliance with all construction permits conditions, such as being held accountable to build the landfill according to the design and specifications.
The manager also must be responsible for compliance with all environmental controls and monitoring requirements, such as acceptable of operations of all leachate and landfill gas control systems and compliance with air and water quality permit conditions.
The training course would consist of three days of classroom lectures and field exercises.
Faculty members would be certified landfill managers. A written examination and oral interview would complete the training course.
In MOLO’s early days, the certification requirements were unusually stringent, given the current status at that time of the quality of landfills and the educational and experience levels of people working on the sites.
Other certification efforts would follow. The International Board approved Hickman’s recommendations of criteria for voluntary certification of solid waste managers.
During the 1980s, GRCDA would take measures within the organization and in partnership with other entities to advance the cause of technical training. There would be partnerships with the EPA’s Solid Waste Office on developing information on solid waste management practices for dissemination, small-quantity hazardous generator training for local governments, and technical assistance. EPA grants also would fund a project to study small-quantity hazardous waste generation.
GRCDA also would co-sponsor, along with the EPA, the US Department of Energy, and the National Solid Waste Management Association (NSWMA), an International European Waste-to-Energy Conference in 1980 as a means to examine European WTE technologies and their operations.
In 1986, GRCDA was working actively with the EPA on the development of Subtitle D Landfill regulations and on the agency’s efforts to regulate landfill gas emissions from MSW landfills.
GRCDA would also be involved with other agencies in conferences on waste flow control.
Through the decade, GRCDA worked on many projects funded by the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste, including a Subtitle D project to develop and present a variety of training efforts associated with sanitary landfill design and operation. Planned programs included training for state landfill enforcement personnel and presentations relative to the Subtitle D regulations.
The EPA Survey Project was a one-year joint effort with the American Public Works Association and was funded to conduct a survey on the needs of local government to meet new federal and state regulatory requirements.
The EPA Peer Match Project provided funds for GRCDA and the National Recycling Council to provide onsite technical assistance through peer matching. Each organization was to develop a database of member skills and establish a college of advisors to provide peer-matching services.
The EPA Technology Transfer Project provided funds for GRCDA to develop summary reports and case studies of research and project efforts that were considered to be useful in the decision making for municipal solid waste management systems.
The EPA Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Conference Project provided funds for the preparation and presentation of an annual household hazardous waste conference, provision of technical assistance, and an HHW newsletter. GRCDA would manage the conference and the remainder of the project was to be done by a contract with Waste Watch.
The EPA National MSW Information Clearinghouse would automate and expand the GRCDA/SWANA library and establish an electronic bulletin board.
The EPA Outreach Project provided meetings planning and management support to the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste. Support was provided for regulatory public hearings and agency-sponsored conferences. One notable conference was an International Municipal Solid Waste Management Conference.
Additionally, funding was also provided to broaden the interface between US municipal solid waste management managers and their counterparts in Europe and Asia, primarily through the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).
The association entered the technical and political areas of landfill gas management by creating a technical committee focused on it.
In 1984, guidelines for the establishment and operations of the technical committees were developed. Technical committees consisted of Collection, Disposal, Hazardous Wastes, Landfill Gas, and Resource Recovery.
Among the committees’ functions were to develop manuals to assist MSW operators. For example, a manual on contracting for residential solid waste collection was developed by the Collection Committee.
The Disposal Committee completed a plan and criteria for the Landfill Excellence Program. The program, launched in