Waste Training Institute 2012: '12 Workshops

  Contact   RSS
Exhibitors Add to Google
Session Add to Google
   Share    Email    Print    Bookmark   
The Waste Group | Penton Media






Waste Training Institute 2012 Workshops:

 

PAYT / Recycle & Save –Moving Diversion Forward Fast!

Lisa A. Skumatz, PhD, Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA)
Monday, April 30 – 1:45-4:45pm

Pay As You Throw / PAYT is the least expensive way to increase recycling in a community. Nothing makes as big an impact – or lasts as long – as a pocketbook incentive. This workshop provides attendees with “PAYT, soup-to-nuts”. Come learn about PAYT from the “Yoda of PAYT”.

This 3-hour workshop provides background on how PAYT works, and the impacts that have been found in more than 7,000 communities with PAYT in place. Most importantly, the workshop provides information for each step of considering PAYT in a community – feasibility, pros / cons / solutions, design alternatives and local “tweaking”, implementation steps, enforcement, billing, outreach, and the economics (budget, costs, revenues, and rates). We present not only the positive side, but provide concrete examples of barriers and how communities have addressed them around the country.

Information on best practices not only for suburban PAYT is provided, but also options for urban, rural, and commercial strategies. We examine motivations / drivers that have been useful in trying to move recycling and PAYT forward, and discuss progress. In addition, we address key topics in PAYT:

  • How does PAYT’s cost and effectiveness compare to other program and incentive options?
  • How has PAYT been working in the multifamily and commercial sectors?
  • How do they work in rural areas, and how do drop-off programs work?
  • How can PAYT be designed to address the issues for small haulers?
  • What designs work best, and in what situations?
  • What are the best ways to implement PAYT – ordinance, contact, etc?
  • Is PAYT effective at reducing GHG?
  • How do we get past critics and help motivate political will?

We present findings on education and outreach techniques that can be most successful in the sector including the costs and impacts of outreach and community based social marketing programs. We address the creative and efficient options that have been brought to rural programs around the country. We walk through the key issues of interest to small haulers, including concerns about container purchase, billing system concerns, worries about the threat of single hauler contracts, rate setting, and others. We use information gleaned from a series of one-on-one interviews with small haulers. We present author research on PAYT’s effectiveness in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and job creation. The results show that PAYT is one of the most cost-effective methods of reducing GHG and achieving job creation goals.

Finally, we provide the pros and cons of the primary ways of implementing PAYT, and tips gleaned from communities and haulers that have worked with each option.

The presentation promises state of the art and best practices information for attendees. In addition, in our work for EPA we have developed a number of tools of use to communities and haulers trying to implement PAYT, including sample ordinances (and template language), models for impact analysis and cost analysis, specialized Q&A, and other tools that are available (for free) to attendees.

About Lisa Skumatz:

DR. LISA SKUMATZ has been Principal of the research and consulting firm Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA) for 16 years, and also has headed the non-profit “Econservation Institute” since 1998. She has worn many “hats” in her career beyond consulting, including solid waste utility, government, and local Town Council. Lisa is a “hands-on” resource economist, and she and her colleagues split their time working on program planning, evaluation, and policy projects in recycling, energy efficiency, and sustainability. On the recycling and sustainability side, she has worked for large and small local jurisdictions, as well as state and national government agencies and a few associations and private corporations, including haulers. She is the acknowledged worldwide expert on Pay As You Throw (PAYT) – called “the Yoda of PAYT”. Beyond her work with more than 100 large and small jurisdictions on PAYT, she has been the PAYT contractor for the EPA (headquarters and multiple regions), as well as for the States of CA, IA, WY, OH, GA, and conducted PAYT analyses for CONEG, SWIX, ABA, NSDA, SRI, GMA, and other states and organizations in the US and internationally. Lisa’s work assessing the cost-effectiveness of energy vs. recycling programs in reducing GHG and job creation was used by Obama’s transition team. Lisa likes to note that she gets her greatest gratification from providing practical results that cities and clients can use to make smarter decisions on waste management programs. Widely published, she has the unique distinction of holding “National Lifetime Achievement Awards” from both NRC and SWANA. Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Econometrics from The Johns Hopkins University; her undergraduate degree is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. SERA is based in Superior Colorado; www.serainc.com; 303/494-1178. Her email is Skumatz@serainc.com.

[return to top]

 

Customer Service and Sales – Retention Efforts in Competitive Markets

Lori Miller, President, Tooty Inc.
Tuesday, May 1 – 10:30am-12:00am

Consider what would happen if every CSR and every sales rep had one cancellation each day. Great ad campaigns bring prospects to the door and well trained sales and service reps close on the new business. New customers are exciting! Customers who complain or want to cancel are not. You won’t be able to get ahead and experience growth if you aren’t prepared to handle tough customer questions.

In this 90-minute workshop you will:

  • Identify the top 3 reasons why someone wants to cancel
  • Design a strategy to address the reason for cancellation
  • Create a commercial on your company that CSRs and sales reps can use
  • Create a check list you can use back at the office to assess what is happening now

About Lori Miller:

Close the sale, improve customer experience and raise the bar for employee performance. Known as “the queen of customer service,” Lori Miller helps companies increase employee morale and bottom line results while improving customer satisfaction. Leaders of some of the world’s largest companies rely on Lori to provide solutions to some of the toughest customer service and sales issues. For over 20 years, clients have worked with Lori’s company, Tooty Inc., to evaluate, train, monitor and mentor their customer service and sales teams. Lori’s innate ability to assess employee skills and identify areas of improvement enables her to create custom scripts, training and strategies that change employee behavior, reduce turnover and boost customer satisfaction. Are your customer service representatives portraying an accurate picture of your company? Customer service reps (CSRs) and sales people aren’t always aware of how they are perceived over the phone. Everything from attitude to voice can have an effect on a customer’s experience. Through her signature program Telepicting, Lori has helped thousands of reps reevaluate the way they talk with people over the phone. Lori works with clients to: Ensure their sales and marketing strategies come alive in their CSRs and sales people; Compare a team’s current performance to the competition and provide strategies for improvement; Change their representative’s behavior (e.g., adjusting voice, attitude and wording); Check employee progress by evaluating phone calls and documenting performance and an employee’s commitment to improve. The experience is eye-opening, enlightening and a catalyst for change. Lori’s extensive work with the waste hauling industry includes specialized training on roll-off, commercial and residential sales, effective handling of service issues and retention. She offers customized “secret shopper” programs and consults on the effectiveness of your staff and processes. Lori is currently the president and founder of Tooty Inc., a creative company devoted to evaluation, training, monitoring and mentoring customer service and sales teams. Lori is also a board member of the National Speakers Association-Illinois Chapter and an author. Visit www.tootyinc.com.

[return to top]

 

Acquisition Due Diligence & Transition Plans

Bart Begley, Founder, President and CEO, Brolin Environmental LLC.
Tuesday, May 1 – 2pm-4pm

“Due Diligence”, what does it really mean and how effective is your company’s due diligence review?  Does the plan allow for the company to uncover all current or future liabilities? Does your company have a transition plan which clearly defines the company’s goals and objective. Will the plan include implementation of all policies, procedures, training, marketing, software setup, facility security and so forth for the newly acquired. This 2-hour workshop will take you step by step through the due diligence process  and then into the transition plan. We will start with the six major areas of due diligence:

  • Type of Corporation
  • Financial Review
  • Operational Review
  • Facilities & Systems
  • Legal
  • Personnel

The Workshop will then move on to the basic eleven areas of an effective transition plan:

  1. Banking
  2. HR\Payroll
  3. Trucks & Equipment
  4. Insurance\Bonds
  5. Operations
  6. Facilities
  7. Customer Service
  8. Computer (Hardware & Software)
  9. Financial - General Ledger
  10. Sales & Marketing Plan
  11. Start up Capital

No matter how big or small the acquisition, these planning tools will help your company with the review, close and smooth transition of any solid waste company.

About Bart Begley:

Mr. Begley has been active in the solid waste industry for over 24 years. Mr. Begley is the Founder, President and CEO of Brolin Environmental, LLC. Brolin Environmental is a solid waste consulting firm specializing in acquisition due diligence, operational reviews of hauling, transfer station and landfill operations, asset valuations and environmental consulting services for both the public and private sectors. Mr. Begley was also the founder as well as the President and CEO of Emerald Waste Services. Emerald Waste was the 36th largest solid waste company in the US. The Company owned and operated ten landfills, two transfer stations and eight hauling divisions. Emerald Waste was sold in March 2011 to a publicly traded solid waste company. Prior to Emerald Waste, Mr. Begley was the President and CEO of Eastern Shore Environmental, Inc. which owned and operated a landfill, transfer station and several waste hauling companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. Eastern Shore was sold to a publicly traded in July 2005. Mr. Begley also served as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions for Waste Systems International, Inc. (WSI) where he helped grow the business from $3 million to over $85 million within two years. Prior to WSI, Mr. Begley managed and operated waste management operations for Waste Management, Inc., Laidlaw Waste Systems, Inc. and Prins Recycling Corp. Mr. Begley has a B.S. in Business Administration from East Tennessee State University. He was named to the 2010 Cambridge Who’s Who in Solid Waste Management, a speaker at the 2011 Solid Waste Expo, published an article in the April 2011 Waste Age Titled “Changing Hands” Why Privatize Waste Collection Services and has raised over $160 million in Equity and Debt.

Customer Service – Staffing Your Office

Lori Miller, President, Tooty Inc.
Wednesday, May 2 – 9am-10:30am

Customer Service and Operations are the two departments that are the life blood of your company. As a service based business, everything revolves around completing the service safely, on time and in a way that makes the customer feel satisfied. If a driver doesn’t show up for work, you have a crisis that needs to have immediate attention.  If you have a CSR at lunch, one off sick and only one person to answer customer calls, you have a crisis. Behind every 5 minute hold time is a situation that could have been prevented if there was a crisis management plan in place. Do you have a plan in place to handle absenteeism, fluctuating work load and other employee disasters?

In this 90-minute workshop you will:

  • Develop a work study evaluation process which will help you determine whether you are properly staffed
  • Determine how many calls each CSR should be able to handle daily
  • Create a list of known events that affect your customer service department
  • Create a plan to minimize long hold time, calls to voice mail and reduce call volume.
  • Create a game plan for the next 3 months

About Lori Miller:

Close the sale, improve customer experience and raise the bar for employee performance. Known as “the queen of customer service,” Lori Miller helps companies increase employee morale and bottom line results while improving customer satisfaction. Leaders of some of the world’s largest companies rely on Lori to provide solutions to some of the toughest customer service and sales issues. For over 20 years, clients have worked with Lori’s company, Tooty Inc., to evaluate, train, monitor and mentor their customer service and sales teams. Lori’s innate ability to assess employee skills and identify areas of improvement enables her to create custom scripts, training and strategies that change employee behavior, reduce turnover and boost customer satisfaction. Are your customer service representatives portraying an accurate picture of your company? Customer service reps (CSRs) and sales people aren’t always aware of how they are perceived over the phone. Everything from attitude to voice can have an effect on a customer’s experience. Through her signature program Telepicting, Lori has helped thousands of reps reevaluate the way they talk with people over the phone. Lori works with clients to: Ensure their sales and marketing strategies come alive in their CSRs and sales people; Compare a team’s current performance to the competition and provide strategies for improvement; Change their representative’s behavior (e.g., adjusting voice, attitude and wording); Check employee progress by evaluating phone calls and documenting performance and an employee’s commitment to improve. The experience is eye-opening, enlightening and a catalyst for change. Lori’s extensive work with the waste hauling industry includes specialized training on roll-off, commercial and residential sales, effective handling of service issues and retention. She offers customized “secret shopper” programs and consults on the effectiveness of your staff and processes. Lori is currently the president and founder of Tooty Inc., a creative company devoted to evaluation, training, monitoring and mentoring customer service and sales teams. Lori is also a board member of the National Speakers Association-Illinois Chapter and an author. Visit www.tootyinc.com

[return to top]

 

More Than PR: A Campaign Approach to Solid Waste Permitting

Darden Copeland, Managing Partner, Calvert Street Group
Wednesday, May 2 – 2-3:30pm

Anyone permitting a new or expanded solid waste facility in today’s environment faces substantial challenges: neighbors are opposed, elected officials are concerned, zoning ordinances and comprehensive plans are inconsistent, and competitors are interfering. With all these potential roadblocks, how does anyone successfully permit a new facility?

This 90-minute workshop will focus on designing a campaign to overcome those obstacles. By drawing from lessons learned running political campaigns, we will discuss specific tactics designed to overcome opposition and secure support. Particular focus will be placed on steps developers can take early in the permitting process to avoid controversial and expensive resistance further down the line. We will also explore the most common ways in which projects are slowed or defeated by public opposition, and what those defeats reveal about the permitting process. Finally, we will examine the role that grassroots citizen mobilization plays in the battle for permit approval, and how to direct that energy in support of your project instead of against it.

This presentation will draw on years of experience in land-use fights across the United States and Canada. Case studies which highlight significant successes and failures in the solid waste permitting process will also be used to augment the session.

About Darden Copeland:

Darden Copeland is the Managing Partner of the Calvert Street Group, a consulting firm focused on managing and winning political and corporate and campaigns.  Copeland specializes in land-use, grassroots advocacy, lobbying, strategic communication, and political consulting.  He has advised a number of fortune 500 companies on a multitude of political and regulatory issues.  Before forming the Calvert Street Group, Copeland managed and oversaw land-use “site fights” across 26 states and Canada.  He has lectured on politics, grassroots organizing, and land-use before Fortune 500 companies, law firms, universities, the Center For American and International Law, and several NSWMA regional conferences.  He has also written for Waste Age and Waste Advantage Magazines. Copeland double-majored in Political Science and Leadership Studies with a minor in Communication at the University of Richmond.  He resides in Nashville, TN.

[return to top]