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2026 Conference Agenda

Sunday, February 22, 2026

12:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Registration Hours

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Welcome Reception

Sponsored by our Gold Sponsors

Monday, February 23, 2026

7:00 AM

Registration Opens

7:00 AM - 8:15 AM

Breakfast

8:30 AM to 9:45 AM

Welcome & In Conversation with John Casella

9:45 AM to 10:00 AM

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Sponsored by GHD

10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Session 1

Track A: Evaluation of Liners (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Effect of Polymer on Water Retention Behavior of Bentonite-Polymer Geosynthetic Clay Liner
    Kuo Tian, George Mason University
  • Geocomposite/Geomembrane Interface Shear Testing: Implications for a California Landfill
    Lindsey Angell, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • Stability Takes Work: Energy Required to Shear Geocomposite-Geomembrane Interfaces
    Jeffrey Kuhn, TRI Environmental
  • Are Subtitle D Liners Effective in Containing PFAS?
    Craig H. Benson, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Track B: Leachate Management & Treatment I (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Case Study: Iterative Solutions for H2S in Leachate
    Samuel Nicolai, Casella Waste Systems
  • Photodegradation of Landfill Leachate Induced Refractory Dissolved Organic Nitrogen and Its Impact on Algal Growth in Estuaries
    Renzun Zhao, North Carolina A&T State University
  • Enhancing Landfill Operations Through Leachate Data Management Solutions
    Xin Peng, Geosyntec Consultants
  • Integrated Foam Fractionation and Supercritical Water Oxidation for PFAS Remediation in High-Volume Waste Streams: Field Application Results
    Rick Gillespie, Revive Environmental

Track C: Temporal & Geospatial Variability in Methane Emissions (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • A Survey of Methane Emissions from North American Municipal Solid Waste Landfills using High-resolution Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring from Space Provided by GHGSat
    Halley Brantley, WM
  • Investigating Fugitive Methane Emissions from Different Landfill Covers and Evaluating Diurnal Variability
    Tawsif Sultan Raaz, University of Delaware
  • Active Work Face Emissions: An Important Opportunity for Reducing Methane Emissions in Waste Management
    Meaghan Amaral, FluxLab
  • Temporal Variability of Subsurface Landfill Gas Composition: Implications for CALMIM Model Accuracy and Emission Calculations
    Ramin Yazdani, University of California at Davis-Air Quality Research Center

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Lunch & Poster Viewing

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Session 2

Track A: Managing Elevated Temperatures in Landfills (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Heat Generation, Storage, and Retention Mechanisms in Elevated Temperature Landfills: Insights from Site-Scale Modeling and Field Data
    Terry Johnson, WM, Inc.
  • Numerical Modeling of Heat Extraction from Elevated Temperature Landfills Using Insights from the Geothermal Energy Industry
    Richard Holt, RESPEC Company, LLC
  • Evaluation of ETLF Progression Through Surface Settlement Analysis
    Troy Kechely, Blue Ridge Services

Track B: Leachate Management & Treatment II (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • UF Membrane Operation Best Practices & RO Membranes Capacity Effects on Leachate Treatment Plant Operation
    Ronald Overholt, US Water Industrial Group
  • Landfill Leachate Pre-Treatment: A Case Study
    Steve Batiste, Brown and Caldwell
  • Mobile Leachate Evaporation – 24/7/365 via a Redesigned, Fan-Driven, Attached Evaporative Process
    Brad Granley, Leachate Management Specialists

Track C: Methane Emissions: Detection, Drivers, and Control (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Analysis of Continuous Monitoring Data with Inverse Atmospheric Models to Improve Landfill Gas Emissions Data and Elucidate Drivers of Emissions
    James Tinjum, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Investigating the Relationship Between Landfill Gas Collection and Airborne Methane Emissions
    Melinda Sims, LoCI Controls, Inc.
  • From Above and From Within: Linking Visibility and Control in Landfill Methane Emissions and Gas Collection Performance
    Tarek Abichou, FAMU-FSU

2:45 PM - 3:15 PM

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

3:15 PM - 4:45 PM

Session 3

Track A: Settlement & Stability (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Final Cover Slide – A Case Study
    Samuel Nicolai, Casella Waste Systems
  • Settlement Accommodation Plan Permitting and Implementation at the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill
    Matt Reardon, SWACO - Jonathan Niemec, Civil & Environmental Consultants
  • Final Cover Drainage: Design for Maximum Airspace and Anticipated Differential Settlement
    Katie Kinley, HDR
  • Three-Dimensional Slope Stability Analysis in Support of a Minor Mod Permit Application
    Livingstone Dumenu, Geosyntec Consultants

Track B: Connecting PFAS Policy & Operations (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Connecting PFAS Policy & Operations Panel
    Moderator: Anne Germain, National Waste & Recycling Association - Joe Benco, Republic Services - Stephanie Bolyard, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality - Sean McGinnis, COEFFICIENT

Track C: Implications of Microplastics in Waste (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Microplastics in Solid Waste Streams: Research Needs and Gaps in Research Methodology
    Victoria Hoffmann, UNC- Charlotte
  • Microplastics in Waste Management
    Zhiyong Xia, GHD
  • Examining the Fate and Persistence of Microplastics During Dry Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Waste Streams
    Shera Campini, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

5:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Special Session: International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the Global Waste Landscape (Room: Desert Vista 2) 

Moderator: Morton Barlaz, NC State University 

James Law, SCS Engineers & ISWA President 

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Reception

Sponsored by The Water & Carbon Group

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

7:00 AM - 8:30 AM

Breakfast

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Session 4

Track A: Landfill Covers (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Quantifying Electrical Leak Location Testing Effectiveness
    Abigail Gilson, TRI Environmental, Inc.
  • Assessing Field Performance of an Exposed Geomembrane Cover
    Donald Hullings, Tetra Tech
  • New Polymer Modified GCLs for Capping Applications
    Michael Donovan, CETCO
  • Feedback on Long-term Integrity of Multi-linear Drainage Geocomposites Installed on Landfill Final Covers after 10 and 12 years of Operation
    Jared Hett, Afitex-Texel

Track B: PFAS Behavior During Water and Wastewater Treatment (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Evaluating and Implementing a Leachate PFAS Treatment Solution
    Arie Kremen, Tetra Tech
  • Fate of PFAS Compounds in a Leachate Evaporator with a Venturi Scrubber
    Russell Keckler, Aptim Environmental & Infrastructure, LLC
  • Electrochemical Destruction of PFAS in Landfill Leachate-Derived Streams Using Axine’s electraCLEAR™ Technology
    Victor Leung, Axine Water Technologies
  • Investigating PFAS Fate in Anaerobic Processes Via Targeted and Non-Targeted Characterization
    Christelle Bou Nehme Sawaya, University of Southern California

Track C: SWM Planning & Modeling (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Solid Waste Master Planning: Unique Challenges and Creative Solutions for Remote Areas
    Sean O'Donnell, Geosyntec Consultants
  • Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Options in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal
    Mohan B. Dangi, California State University
  • Promoting Education and Engagement in Solid Waste Services: Leveraging Data to Highlight Landfill Contributions to Local Community Sustainability
    Kate Howe, Weaver Consultants Group
  • The Friction of Sustainability: From Proximity to Spatial Potential in Neighborhood Waste Planning
    Ga-In Sim, EPFL

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

Sponsored by Vecoplan

10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Session 5

Track A: Emissions Measurement & Monitoring (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Fixed Point Methane Monitoring for Landfill Emissions Detection
    Md Elius, University of California Berkeley


  • Estimation of Whole-Landfill Emissions Using Surface Emissions Monitoring (SEM) Data Coupled with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modeling
    Raf Crowley, University of Central Florida
  • Addressing Emission Variability in Landfills: A Multi-Site, Multi-Tier Methane Monitoring Approach Using Satellites and Aircraft
    Krishna Kataria, GHGSAT - Ami Bryant, WM
  • Advances and Uncertainties: Understanding the Performance of Landfill Methane Measurement Solutions in Controlled Release Experiments
    Tarek Abichou, FAMU-FSU - Regina Gonzalez Moguel, FluxLab

Track B: PFAS Storage & Cycling (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Investigating PFAS Content and Leaching Potential of Automotive Shredder Residue
    Erin Bulson, WM Inc.
  • The Unique Distribution Pattern of PFAS in Landfill Organics
    Syeed Md Iskander, North Dakota State University
  • Digging Deeper into PFAS in MSW: Large-Scale Extraction and Landfill Sequestration Assessment
    Milind Khire, UNC Charlotte
  • PFAS Transport and Mass Balance Between A Wastewater Treatment Plant and A Landfill: Lessons Learned for PFAS Treatment and Management
    Lingke Zeng, Sanborn Head & Associates, Inc

Track C: Effectiveness of Recycling Programs (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Which Program Has the Cleanest Recyclables? Examining Contamination Levels in Single-Stream and Dual-Stream Recycling in New York State
    Firman Firmansyah, Waste Data & Analysis Center, Stony Brook University
  • A Data-Driven Approach for Predicting and Reducing Recycling Contamination in Single-Family Households
    Jiannan "Nick" Chen, University of Central Florida
  • Flexible Film Recovery in California: 2026
    JD Lindeberg, Resource Recycling Systems

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Lunch & Poster Viewing

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Session 6

Track A: Special Applications in PFAS Management (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Phyto-Enhanced In-Situ Retention of PFAS to Treat Groundwater
    Leonard Mankowski, WSP
  • Novel Wastewater Treatment Process for PFAS Removal
    Paul Rodriguez, Emerging Compounds Treatment Technologies, Inc (ECT2)
  • Benefits of Surface Modified Clays in PFAS Management for Landfills
    Michael Donovan, CETCO
  • Collaborative Approach to Managing PFAS in Biosolids
    Andrew Safulko, Brown and Caldwell

Track B: Operations Guided Landfill Design (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Innovative LF Expansion Case Study- Waste Excavation for MSE Berm Construction
    Christopher Dohner, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • 20-Plus Years of Monitoring of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Perimeter Berms for Landfill Containment
    Frank Adams, WSP USA Inc.
  • Alternate Compaction Criteria for Cap Recompacted Soil Barriers and Relationship to Hydraulic Conductivity
    Jeremy Heyerly, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • Augmenting MSW Landfill Liquid Removal with Integrated Multi-Level Collectors
    Brian Barninger, BEL Environmental Engineering

Track C: Case Studies in Composting (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Enhancing Circularity and Building Resilience in Compost Facility Design: A Case Study from Tulare, CA
    Meggy Gidula, Brown and Caldwell
  • Challenges and Progress in Composting Facility Permitting in California: A GreenWaste Case Study
    Lindsey Angell, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • Meeting Stringent Contamination Standards in Compost in a Novel Digestion Facility Treating Source Separated Organics
    Luc De Baere, Dranco Inc.
  • Survey, Testing and Mitigation of Persistent Herbicides in Municipal Solid Waste Composts
    Frederick Michel, Ohio State University

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Session 7

Track A: Final Covers & Closure (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Broome County NY Landfill Reclamation
    Bradford Smith, GHD
  • Optimizing Landfill Closure: A Comparative Evaluation of Synthetic Turf Geomembrane Systems and Application at the Colton Sanitary Landfill
    Brian Reyes, SWT Engineering, Inc.
  • Brownfields Redevelopment of a Capped Former Landfill in Baltimore
    Samantha Howell, Geosyntec Consultants
  • Benefits of Prescriptive Vegetation on Closure Surfaces
    Christopher Garaventa, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. - Gretchen Addington, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Track B: PFAS in Landfill Gas (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • Characterization and Quantification of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Landfill Gas from U.S. Landfills
    Florentino De la Cruz, University of North Florida
  • Air Dispersion Modeling to Evaluate Downwind PFAS Concentrations from Landfill Gas Emissions
    Regan Welch, Geosyntec Consultants
  • Experience with EPA Other Test Method 45 (OTM-45) for PFAS Emissions Testing at Municipal Waste Combustors
    Michael Van Brunt, Reworld
  • PFAS Behavior in Solid Waste Combustion Treatment at Landfills
    Appala Raju Badireddy, University of Vermont

Track C: State CH4 Emission Regulations & the Intersection with Operations Discussion (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Veronica Pardo, Resource Recovery Coalition of California - Timothy Taylor, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment - Mike Thomson, GFL Environmental

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Reception

Sponsored by Civil Design Solutions


Wednesday, February 25, 2026

7:00 AM - 8:15 AM

Breakfast

8:15 AM - 9:45 AM

Session 8

Track A: Advances in Anaerobic Digestion (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Machine Learning for Predicting and Optimizing the Performance of an Anaerobic Digester with Diverse Feedstocks and Operating Conditions
    Fei Long, Oregon State University
  • City of Toronto AD & RNG Facilities
    Dilshad Mondegarian, GHD Services Inc.
  • Performance Evaluation of an Anaerobic Composter for Organic Waste Diversion: Operational Lessons and Future Directions
    Kyuhwan "Kevin" Shim, Yolo County Integrated Waste Management Division

Track B: Landfill Gas Management (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Sustainable, Complete Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide from a Major Construction Waste Landfill
    Deane Little, New Sky Energy
  • Tier 3 NMOC Testing Using New Technologies
    Matt Stutz, Weaver Consultants Group
  • Kinetic Evaluation of the Thermal Decomposition of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Waste Management Systems
    Happiness Mbando, University of North Florida

Track C: Applications of AI in Solid Waste Systems (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • From Stone Age to Space Age: Use of AI in SWM
    Bryan Staley, Environmental Research & Education Foundation
  • Internet of Waste: Low-Cost Sensor Network and Portable AI Model for Quantifying Recyclable Cross Contamination in Saint Louis, MO
    Orhun Aydin, Saint Louis University
  • How AI is Transforming MRF Operations and Efficiency
    Sylvain Auger, Machinex Technologies

9:45 AM - 10:15 AM

Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

10:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Session 9

Track A: Odor Management (Room: Desert Vista 1)

  • Field Study: Performance Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste Exposed Working Face Odor Neutralizer (ExWON) Using QuikAir V
    Emmanuel Varona-Torres, Weaver Consultants Group
  • Odor Allocation / Attribution Using Ultra-Low Real Time Analytical Capability and Deep Data Analysis to Fingerprint Facilities
    Steven E. Yuchs, PhD, Montrose Environmental Group
  • Odor Control and Abatement in the Solid Waste Management System
    Sarah Ledogar, Environmental Research & Education Foundation

Track B: Foam Fractionation to Remove PFAS in Leachate (Room: Desert Vista 2)

  • PFAS Treatment: From Liability to Leadership
    Nicolas Ganzon, The Water & Carbon Group
  • Improved Treatment of PFAS Contaminated Water and Wastewater for Foam Fractionation Utilizing Gas Nanobubbles
    Richard Nie, StreamGo Water Solutions Inc.
  • PFAS Removal from Landfill Leachate: Pilot Study of Efficiency, Air Emissions, and Foamate Management
    Lingke Zeng, Sanborn Head & Associates, Inc

Track C: Evaluating SWM Policy & Protocols (Room: Grand Salon E-H)

  • Understanding the Efficacy of EPR: Current State of Knowledge
    Suzie Boxman, Environmental Research & Education Foundation
  • Does New York's Bottle Bill Still Work? A Material-Specific Comparison of Deposit and Non-Deposit Containers in Waste Stream’s Composition
    Firman Firmansyah, Waste Data & Analysis Center, Stony Brook University
  • Assessment of Value Chain Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting at U.S. Solid Waste Management Companies
    Erica Higa, University of Pennsylvania/Waga Energy

12:30 PM

Golf

Sponsored by Chesapeake Containment Systems Inc. & Pump One Environmental, LLC


*Agenda Subject to Change