Exclusive: A region with a rich waste-to-energy history

Ted Michaels

The North American Waste-to-Energy Conference (NAWTEC) heads to Minneapolis for the first time in its 25-year history in 2017. The conference, April 23-26, at the Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown, is co-sponsored by the Energy Recovery Council (ERC), Arlington, Virginia, and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland.

ERC President Ted Michaels provides more insight into the conference including topics covered and the decision to locate in the Twin Cities in the following Q&A with Waste Today magazine.

Waste Today (WT): Why did you choose Minneapolis for this year’s conference?
Ted Michaels (TM): Minnesota has a long and rich history with waste-to-energy and this will be the first time we have hosted NAWTEC in the state. Bringing NAWTEC to Minneapolis for the 25th anniversary event will allow us to highlight the success of Minnesota communities in developing community-based waste-to-energy systems.

WT: What is new or different about this year’s event?
TM: NAWTEC will focus on both business and technical issues related to recovering energy and materials from waste, including through combustion based waste-to-energy, waste conversation technologies, organics management, and front-end waste processing. For the first time, NAWTEC will offer tours of facilities never before included at NAWTEC, including the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center in Minneapolis, the Olmsted Waste-to-Energy Facility in Rochester, Minnesota, and the Ramsey/Washington County Recycling & Energy Center in Newport, Minnesota.

WT: What can attendees expect to gain by attending the conference?
TM: Attending NAWTEC offers the best of the waste-to-energy sector in one conference. This is the single largest and longest-running conference dedicated to WTE and includes leaders in both the private and public sectors, making the networking opportunities second to none. In addition, the conference program provides a one-stop opportunity for those interested in recovering energy and materials from municipal waste to learn about the most recent news, projects, and research in the industry. NAWTEC25 in Minneapolis will provide an incredibly robust program deserving of NAWTEC’s 25th anniversary event.

More information about NAWTEC is available at https://swana.org/Events/NAWTEC.aspx.