Overview

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2026 SWANA Northern Lights Chapter Conference in Calgary, AB.

SAVE THE DATE: The 2027 NLC Conference will be held May 26-28, 2027 in Regina, SK.

2026 Proceedings

Below are copies of the available proceedings from the conference. Click on the speaker’s name to download their slide deck (PDF format).

Workshop: Re-Treading New Ground – A panel discussion about tire shred for leachate drainage in landfills

Workshop: After the Last Good Night – A look at end of life options for mattresses

Opening Keynote: Scaling Change for Circularity

Plenary: Speaking of Change – What can we expect to see with EPR?

Building Barriers That Nature Depends On: Landfill Construction & Risk – Session 1A

Unique Challenges to Siting a New Landfill in Old Crow, Yukon – Elise Duma, Stantec
What’s under your landfill liner? – Spencer Smith, TetraTech
Leachate Control and Management…Continuous Learning and Constant Improvement – Kevin Keenan, Sequoia Environmental Remediation Inc.

Tidying Our Tracks: Waste and Recycling Collections – Session 1B

Fullness Sensors in Commercial Waste Containers – James Nicholls and Jeff Gunderson, City of Lethbridge
People Occupying Waste Bins: The inherent dangers associated with occupying bins and the steps the City of Edmonton took to find occupants before collection – Tony Colangelo, City of Edmonton
Weigh Scale and Hauling Software Integration – Rocky Strong, Strong Automation

What Nature Has Been Doing All Along: Circular Economy – Session 1C

Breaking down barriers to scaling waste-to-value building materials – Iris Monner, CSA Group (presentation not available)
Lessons Learned from Circular Economy Grassroot Projects – Erin Bird, Circular Calgary
Banff Goes Circular – Carla Bitz, Town of Banff

Unearthing the Story Below: Landfill Search Finding – Session 2A

Understanding and preparing for searching through a landfill – Richard Anweiler, City of Calgary
Logistics of a Landfill Search – Scott Theede, City of Saskatoon (presentation not available)

Planting Ideas That Change Behaviour: Communications – Session 2B

Large-Scale Residential Outreach Program – Monika Mojelski, City of Calgary, and Kentson Yan, Tetra Tech
Rooting Success: Tailoring Communications for Remote Landfill Operations – Mario Poveda, Dillon Consulting Limited
Shifting Waste Realities: Why the HHW Program and Alberta’s HSP Framework Tell Two Different Stories – Martin Ortiz, City of Calgary
Reducing Landfill Waste with AI – Carter Cook, Grade 9 Student, RT Alderman School (presentation not available)

Giving Resources Another Life: Recycling, Reuse, and Food Waste – Session 2C

Public Space and Event Waste Diversion – Lori McGillivray Moroz, City of Saskatoon
Reducing Waste One Workshop at a Time: Leveraging Community Skills for Sustainable Reuse at the Edmonton Reuse Centre – Liane Little, City of Edmonton
Food loss in the Canadian supply chain – Dr. Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, University of Regina

Tending a Human-Made Landscape: Landfill Operation – Session 3A

DIY Drone Data Capture and Utilization for Enhanced Landfill Planning and Operation – Brett Snell, Associated Engineering Alberta
Reverse Osmosis Treatment of Landfill Leachate: Disruption of the PFAS Cycle – Erica Peris, Rochem Americas
PFAS in Landfills: Garbage In, Garbage Out – Tim Abbott & Imad E. Touahar, AECOM

Behind the Scenes of a Low-Impact Summit: G7 Summit Experience – Session 3B

Sebastien Tessier – Executive Chef at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Kathleen Van Ihinger – Operations Manager, Devour Catering and Events
Allana Pettigrew – Banff Food Rescue
Alyson Schill – CEO at Careit: A digital Food Donation Network
Grace Mar, AHS & France Villanueva, AHS – Restaurant inspections and food programs/donations (presentation not available)

Letting Nature Finish the Work: Compost – Session 3C

Cold Weather Composting: Using Technology as an Aid – Aaron Osczevski, Sustainable Generation
Calgary Composting Facility Expansion – Pulkit Gupta and Jon Heinrichs, City of Calgary
Landfill Evapotranspiration Bio-Cover: Utilizing Natural Systems to Solve Engineering Problems – Joe Angevine, Foothills Regional Landfill & Resource Recovery Centre, and Michel Lefebvre, Tetra Tech

Designing Waste Systems for Future Generations: Future Landfill & Innovation – Session 4A

Landfill Methane Regulations and Canada’s efforts to reduce waste sector methane emissions – Loren Bekeris, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada
The Hartland RNG facility, developed in partnership with Capital Regional District (CRD) and FortisBC: from landfill gas to renewable natural gas – Julie Flynn, Waga, Energy Canada
Front End Engineering Design for Project Omega Integrated Waste Management Facility (Location: Middle East) – Tom Jacklin, M.Eng., P.Eng. Worley Canada Services Ltd.

Responding When Nature Rewrites the Plan: Disaster Debris – Session 4B

When the Landfill is the Disaster Area – Kendra Johnston & Shawn McKay, Newell Regional Landfill
Ashes to Action: Managing the Denare Beach Disaster Response – Michelle Tomasiewicz, AECOM
Ashes, Asbestos, and Albertans: Clearing the Way for Jasper’s Return Home – Matt Rawluk, Claystone Waste Ltd.

Protecting People, Sites, and Systems Under Pressure: Risk Management & Safety – Session 4C

Best Practices for Mitigating Lithium-ion Battery Fires: Lessons from Edmonton and Path to Future Management – Ibrahim Karidio, City of Edmonton
Batteries from an EPR Perspective – Danika Pal, Danika Pal Consulting Representing the Canadian Battery Association (CBA) (presentation not available)
Moving Well at Work for collections and landfill staff: “A.K.T.S” of kindness for our employees’ physical health – Andy Kitchen & Adam Wasylyshyn, Operational Services Employee Fitness & Wellness Team, City of Calgary