Register today!

Webinar on Tuesday, June 1
2 pm to 4 pm (EST)

Join this virtually tour and see how the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) are actively involved in educating the public about the importance of reducing, reusing, recycling and rethinking waste.

Agenda Summary
The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) is the governmental agency responsible for providing an economical and environmentally conscious Integrated Solid Waste Management System for Palm Beach County, Florida. Operations, Ray Schauer, will lead us on a virtual tour of their award-winning integrated system of facilities that combines recycling, diversion, renewable energy and landfilling to effectively manage the county’s waste. The SWA’s system includes seven Home Chemical and Recycling Centers, six transfer stations, two waste-to-energy facilities, a Recovered Materials Processing Facility for recyclables, a Biosolids Processing Facility, and two landfills as a last resort for disposal. Brian Elkins, Recycling Business Manager, and Mary Wozny, Education Specialist, will also share with us information about their educational programs they provide for schools and other community members, a new database to assist the public with finding recycling drop off locations, statistics about recycling contamination, and two upcoming projects and pilot programs.

Date:  Tuesday, June 1

Time:  2 pm to 4 pm (EST)

Where: Online via Zoom

Registration:

• FREE for Recycle Florida Today, Inc. members
• $50 for non-members

Speakers

• Ray Schauer, Director of Facilities and Contract Operations
• Brian Elkins, Recycling Business Manager
• Mary Wozny, Education Specialist

Click here to register!   Meet Our Speakers Ray Schauer Director of Facility and Contract Operations Since receiving his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, Mr. Schauer has had over 48 years of capital facility planning, design, construction, and operations experience including both domestic and international projects. Mr. Schauer is currently the Director of Facility Contract Operations for the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, Florida. His responsibilities in this position include managing the Operations and Maintenance Contracts for the SWA’s recovered materials, processing facility, and renewable energy facilities.   These facilities include a 400TPD dual stream Recovered Material Processing Facility, a 2,000TPD Refuse Derived Fuel Renewable Energy Facility #1 (REF #1), a new 3,000TPD Mass Burn Renewable Energy Facility #2 (REF #2), and a 600TPD Biosolids Processing Facility (BPF). Prior to his current position, Mr. Schauer was the Director of Engineering and Public Works. In this position his responsibilities included the planning and implementation of the SWA’s $1.1B Capital Improvement Program that, in addition to REF #2, included the refurbishment of the existing 2,000 ton per day Refuse Derived Fuel Waste-to Energy Facility, the new dual stream Recovered Materials Processing Facility, the new Biosolids Processing Facility, a Landfill Operations Building, and two new Transfer Stations. Brian Elkins Recycling Business Manager Brian Elkins is the Recycling Business Manager at the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County. He has been with the SWA for over 20 years in various roles throughout his career. Brian oversees the administration of the recycling program within Palm Beach County by supervising a recycling call center team, responding to resident’s requests and/or inquiries received via telephone, mail or email; develops, manages, and tracks the department budget.    Brian oversees the monthly reports and the annual Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Solid Waste Management Report coordinating the data from multiple departments to submit the report. Brian also solicits bids, purchases items, and pays vendors for the department. During his time as an Education Specialist Brian was awarded the Project Learning Tree Educator of the Year. Brian is also a member of the Board of Directors and a Co-Chair for the Gates Committee for SunFest. Mary Wozny Education Specialist Mary Wozny is an Education Specialist at the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County. She has been with them since 2018 and has always had a passion for educating the public about environmental conservation and sustainability. Her love for science and the environment has led her to obtain two master degrees in the biological and environmental sciences. Mary has presented her work at both national and international conferences, including at the annual conference for the North American Association for Environmental Education.   She has worked previously as an environmental specialist for the State of Florida and as the science department chair and teacher at American Heritage School. With the SWA she educates the public about creating clean energy in Palm Beach County’s state of the art renewable energy facilities, the importance of recycling correctly to help preserve natural resources, and how nature can coexist with industry.